Tuesday, 12 November 2024

Apprenticeships

Gary MAAS (Narre Warren South) (19:06): (914) The adjournment matter I wish to raise is for the attention of the Minister for Skills and TAFE in the other place, and it concerns the apprenticeships taskforce report. The action that I seek is that the minister provide an update on the Allan Labor government’s response to the apprenticeships taskforce report, which will support apprentices in my electorate of Narre Warren South. We need our tradies now more than ever, and we need more of them. They keep our state running, from all small maintenance issues to large projects, including building our homes, businesses and the Big Build infrastructure.

Part of keeping the place running is upskilling and educating the next generation of tradies through TAFE courses and apprenticeships. It is so important that they receive the support and workplace rights that every worker deserves. The apprenticeships taskforce recommended reforms to address issues including safety, harassment, training quality and fairness of work. This builds on our work in other areas such as workers’ mental health as well.

I recently spoke at the Incolink Bluehats conference, where the need for workers to be supported on these issues, including their mental health, was heavily discussed, and it really was a terrific forum. These were once traditionally blokey jobs that did not report workplace issues. Thankfully, now more women are joining the trades workforce and men are starting to understand the importance of talking about their problems, including reporting alleged misconduct. The state government’s response to the apprenticeships taskforce report should lead to better and more productive workplaces, where workers’ rights are respected and support is easily accessible. I look forward to sharing the minister’s response with my community.