ALA

Wednesday, 24 September 2008 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 61

CHAMBER

Australian Technical Colleges

(3.32 pm)— My question is to the Acting Prime Minister. Will the Acting Prime Minister update the House on the latest developments around the Australian technical colleges?

— …The member asked me about Australian technical colleges…The government is moving to better training arrangements, which will certainly be more costeffective and will certainly cover more students. I am pleased to be able to say that there have been made arrangements for the future of three technical colleges. These will be better arrangements and certainly more cost-effective for the long term. The newly elected member for Lyne played an important role in this development and led a delegation to see me. He would know that the ATC in Port Macquarie is moving to be the Newman Senior Technical College. It will be moved back to the Catholic school system. In Western Sydney, the Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation will run the college there. In the electorate of the member for Wakefield, who asked me this question, the ATC will become the Regional Catholic Technical College. These are long-term solutions for the future which will enable training in those communities under better and sustainable arrangements. The arrangements we make for the future of ATCs are in addition to our $2.5 billion investment in Trades Training Centres in Schools.

Employment

(3.42 pm)— My question is to the Minister for Employment Participation. How is the government improving employment services for job seekers and how will this address Australia’s skills shortage?

Mr BRENDAN O’CONNOR— I thank the member for Shortland for her question. I know she has a great deal of concern for job seekers in her electorate and, indeed, for those people who are unemployed and looking for work. We have recently gone through a round of consultations with employers, employer bodies, employment service providers and others to make sure we have a system in place that will be effective and that will ensure that there is training that will allow those job seekers to acquire the skills that employers are crying out for in this country. I know the Leader of the Opposition said earlier in this place that we do not have a skills shortage, that we do not a skills crisis in this country, but unfortunately employers in this country know better. They have told us that they cannot, in some circumstances, fill existing vacancies. They also know that their training, delivered by the previous government, was in many respects deficient. The employer body in Victoria, VECCI, made clear that the training that was provided to some job seekers was, in fact, deficient. They referred to some those training services as Mickey Mouse courses. This government is very focused on ensuring that the training delivered to job seekers ensures that they acquire skills employers need. That is why this government will roll out 253,000 training places for job seekers over the course of the next five years. We are going to ensure that those job seekers, particularly those who have been denied access to training because of the failures of the previous government, are given opportunities. I know that, when the member for Wentworth became the Leader of the Opposition, he said that he would like to see people in this country being given opportunities. This government is about providing practical opportunities for those job seekers, some of whom are on the margins of our society. We know the previous government was obsessed about marginals, but over the last 10 years they cared not a jot about those who were marginalised. We on this side of the House are concerned for all Australians. We want to provide opportunities for all Australians, including job seekers who have been left out by not being provided the right forms of assistance that they need. We need to turn around the real problem we have with the very long term unemployed. In 1999, one in 10 job seekers were on the very long term unemployment list. Now, almost one in four are on the very long term unemployment list. That is why we need to ensure that there is sufficient training, proper assistance, mentoring and other forms of assistance that will give to those people who have not been given opportunities the opportunities they need to make their lives more productive for themselves, their families, their communities and this nation.