Skills and training key to nation’s jobs recovery

The Marshall Government has today welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement of the JobMaker plan to boost jobs through the transformation of the nation’s skills sector.

The Prime Minister’s JobMaker plan will enable South Australia to continue its skills training, which has delivered more skills funding, more paid skills training, more flexibility and outcomes for industry.

“After two years of rebuilding the state’s training system, South Australia is well placed to help drive this national approach to reforming the nation’s skills and training sector,” Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said.

“The Marshall Government has demonstrated that an agile and flexible approach to skills delivery and funding is critical to responding to industry needs, with a move towards a contestable system giving non-government training providers more opportunity to deliver strong training outcomes which are better aligned to the skills needs of industry.

“Our $200 million Skilling South Australia program is about delivering outcomes, evidenced by our nation leading 20 per cent growth in apprentice and trainee commencements in the September 2019 quarter compared to the same period a year earlier.

“This has occurred thanks to better linking of funding to actual forward-looking skills needs, identified by the PM as a key change nationally, which has been facilitated in SA by the input from our eight Industry Skills Councils as to what businesses need.

“Skilling South Australia has been about turning around the state’s training system through a flexible approach to training, which has seen the development of bespoke projects, co-designed with industry to meet our state’s training needs now and into the future, as our economy transitions.

“The nation’s economic recovery will be driven by employment growth in modern industries which require a skilled workforce.

“With the growth of defence, space, cyber security, health care and high-tech industries, South Australia is continuing to create new vocational pathways into these high growth sectors.

“We welcome the Prime Minister’s plan to tie funding to outcomes, as Skilling South Australia is all about outcomes and its success has been built on working closely with industry and directly with employers to shape the state’s training system to meet their skills needs in a flexible and responsive way.

“The Marshall Liberal Government stands ready to work closely with industry, the commonwealth and other states and territories to deliver reform in the skills and training sector, that will modernise our skills base so more South Australians will benefit from our transforming economy.”

/Public News. View in full here.