Skills Australia
Skills Australia welcomes ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth’ measures in the Federal Budget
Skills Australia today welcomed the Government’s investment in the Australian workforce of the future through the training, apprenticeships and adult literacy and numeracy measures announced in the 2010-11 Budget.
“These Budget measures will help ensure Australia has the workforce capability required for a productive, sustainable and inclusive future. We welcome them because they are based on evidence, successful existing programs and have the strong support of industry and other key stakeholders,” said the Chair of Skills Australia, Philip Bullock.
The Government’s new ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth’ strategy is particularly welcome with its commitment to support more apprentices and provide training to meet emerging skills needs, the measures to improve adult literacy and numeracy, action to lift the quality and capacity of vocational education and training (VET), and the recognition of the central role of industry in training.
“During the last economic boom many Australians were excluded from the workforce because of low literacy and numeracy skills. Skills Australia welcomes the extra $120 million investment over four years announced in the Budget to address this issue. The extension of the Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) program and the Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) program was a major recommendation in Australian Workforce Futures. Low levels of adult language, literacy and numeracy are among the key issues raised by industry,” said Mr Bullock.
“The strong focus on the vocational education and training system in the Budget will be widely applauded by industry and the community. We look forward to providing further advice to Government to ensure that the $243 million investment over the next four years in VET will provide more opportunities for Australians to gain vocational qualifications through the National Entitlement to a Quality Training Place.
“Quality in the VET sector is critical to ensuring that the needs of industry are met. We therefore welcome the measures to improve and ensure the quality of the VET sector through the $130 million Quality Skills Incentive and the additional steps to ensure there is greater transparency in the VET system.
“The additional training places created through the Critical Skills Investment Fund will be crucial in addressing skills shortages in specific sectors and industries. The $200 million fund is important because it will ensure a co-investment in training by Government and industry. The involvement of industry is important to ensure that the training effort is linked to workforce needs and employment opportunities.
“We believe that as a next step, the Government needs to bring the states and territories, peak industry and training bodies, industry and education providers together, through a partnership approach, to ensure that there is a shared agenda in the implementation of these new workforce development and training initiatives.”