Manufacturing sector apprenticeships
Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (17:54): (1441) Our manufacturing industry is the backbone of Australia’s supply chains. Without a steady pipeline of skilled workers producing essential building components, sovereign manufacturing capability becomes nothing more than a hollow promise. Instead we leave ourselves vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions and ever-rising input costs. According to the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Victoria currently has approximately 85,000 apprentices, yet unsurprisingly the number of new apprentices continues to decline. Worse still, the Victorian Apprenticeships Taskforce report, which was released in March last year, confirms that Victoria lags behind the rest of the country in apprenticeship completion rates. The state average for those who start apprenticeships and complete them is 52.3 per cent – a number so dismal that it begs serious reflection, not self-congratulation. The more pressing question remains: why are people starting apprenticeships yet failing to complete them? This is not just a statistic. It is a fundamental problem that policymakers need to identify, understand and resolve urgently. Meanwhile federal Labor’s latest $10,000 bonus scheme for housing industry apprentices is being paraded as a game-changing solution. In reality it is another short-sighted pre-election bandaid fix from a government in crisis, both in Canberra and here on Spring Street.
If there is going to be any meaningful progress, the multisector approach is essential, and one that prioritises manufacturing rather than just politically convenient industries. Therefore, my adjournment matter is directed to the Minister for Skills and TAFE. The action that I seek is for the minister to join me in a meeting with boards of key manufacturing peak bodies such as the Geelong Manufacturing Council, South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance and NORTH Link, and listen to industry and what their solutions are, working towards real practical strategies to increase the number of manufacturing apprentices. On that note, the Local Jobs First commissioner, who has held the role for three years now, might wish to clarify something: how many times has she engaged with these manufacturing peak bodies on this issue, or is manufacturing once again just being conveniently sidelined?