Industry Skills Australia Supply Chain Leaders' Summit
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Acknowledgement of Country
I would like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people as the Traditional Custodians on the land on which we meet today.
I pay my respects to their Elders past and present, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who join us.
Acknowledgements
Thank you, Ricardo, for the introduction.
I would like to acknowledge Tony Wilks Chair of Industry Skills Australia’s board and CEO Paul Walsh. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
I would like to acknowledge Natalie James, Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, who is participating on the panel following this address.
Introduction
Today’s Summit is a milestone for ISA – the culmination of ISA’s first full year of operations as a Jobs and Skills Council (JSC).
It is great to see so many industry leaders from across Australia’s supply chain industries here, as well as union leaders, fellow JSCs and parliamentary representatives.
I want to acknowledge the aviation, maritime, rail, transport and logistics sectors that ISA represent. These sectors are the backbone of our economy.
The Summit is an opportunity to discuss the rapid transformation of Australia’s supply chains and the implications for the world of work.
When we came to Government, Australia was experiencing the biggest skills shortage in 50 years.
And at a time where we are seeing significant change to our labour market, it is fitting that the theme of today’s Summit is the ‘Future of Work’.
It represents a chance to capitalise on the new opportunities that are emerging as part of our transition to Net Zero, increasing use of robotics and AI, and changing business models.
We are working to ensure that employers and people looking to upskill and reskill can turn to the vocational education and training (VET).
The National Skills Agreement (NSA) illustrates how important partnerships are in this space.
The Albanese Government is investing $12.6 billion through the NSA to support state and territory skills sectors –those partnerships provide an important opportunity for industry and people to share their experiences and expertise.
Because if we’re going to solve the skills shortages this nation faces we must do it together.
While the NSA will create more opportunities for state and territory governments to fund high-quality training that reflects their needs, it also represents an important opportunity for governments to work together to address our shared challenges and capitalise on opportunities.
Skills Ministers have agreed on national priorities in the NSA, including the net zero transformation, digital and technology and sovereign capability.
Free TAFE
In just 18 months, more than half a million Australians have jumped at the opportunity to get the skills they want, in the sectors our economy needs.
Free TAFE is changing lives of people across the nation.
Not only is Free TAFE helping to tackle the cost of living, but it’s building our workforce in critical areas.
We've had 35,000 enrol in construction courses, 35,000 in early education, 50,000 in digital technology, and 130,000 in aged care and disability care. Tens of thousands of jobseekers are getting a fresh start.
Hundreds of thousands of young people are training for a new career, and older workers are training for a new opportunity.
The Albanese Government has partnered with the states and territories to deliver over $1.5 billion in funding for Free TAFE across Australia.
Free TAFE prioritises training places in areas of national skills priority and demand such as construction and sovereign capability.
Importantly, it retains flexibility for states and territories to respond to their local issues.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley has the gall to say this is ‘wasteful spending’. The Liberals thinks funding 500,000 Free TAFE places is wasteful.
That’s not what Australians tell me when I travel around the country.
People like Caitlin, a single mum and navy veteran who’s studying nursing at TAFE, who told me her son doesn’t have to miss out on afternoon activities because the Labor Government is ensuring her study is free.
Jayden on the Sunshine Coast who always dreamed of following his parents into the healthcare profession and can now, thanks to Free TAFE removing financial barriers to his study.
Cristy, who’s currently training at Logan Hospital, who’ll use the money she’s saved thanks to Free TAFE to study for a Bachelor’s degree with the long term goal of working in indigenous health to connect her culture with First Nations patients.
Peter Dutton and Sussan Ley have been spreading a lot of mistruths around Free TAFE but last week they let the mask slip and said the quiet part out loud, declaring in Parliament that ‘if you don’t pay for something, you don’t value it.’
The Albanese Labor Government knows Free TAFE is changing lives and that the more than half a million Australians who’ve taken it up certainly value it.
We know it is helping skill the workforce you will need.
Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs)
We’ve put in place some other architectural features which are worth touching on.
The existence of Jobs and Skills Australia enables us to understand not just the labour market now but to think about those future needs so that we can get on with planning.
Whether that planning is at an individual, local government or at a national level, we can ensure that temporary skills shortages are just that – temporary – not structural failings of our economy and our labour market.
Linked to JSA are the important role of JSCs, putting in place tripartite partnerships that can build another bridge between the needs of our economy and the understanding that’s felt at a workplace level.
You underpin so much of what we want to achieve.
The Albanese Government created the 10 JSCs to be industry-owned and industry-led.
Providing industry with a stronger, more strategic voice to ensure Australia’s VET sector delivers better outcomes for students and employers.
It is an unprecedented opportunity for industry to come together and shape how Australia builds a world-class skills sector..
Workforce Plans
Workforce planning is central to the work JSCs are undertaking.
Making sure that the training packages are fit for purpose, particularly in those areas of national significance which are playing out in so many of our regional economies.
A Future Made in Australia, a transition to net zero, all of these things don’t just require more workers – like the 42,000 electricians that we need to train – but to ensure that the training people are receiving is fit for future purposes, not simply for the jobs of today or yesterday.
The workforce plans are the strategic centrepiece, establishing the essential context for the other functions that JSCs perform, including: training product development implementation, promotion and monitoring industry stewardship.
Workforce plans are a key mechanism that contribute to the development of government policy and actions to help address these challenges.
Shaping the skills pipeline
You have activities and research projects either underway or in the pipeline that address challenges identified in their 2024 sector workforce plans.
These projects include changes to training products to reflect evolving skills needs and regulatory updates. For example:
The Autonomous Maritime Systems project will ensure existing maritime training package products for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and Autonomous Surface Vessels operators support new and emerging jobs.
The chain of responsibility units in the transport and logistics training packages have been updated. This is in response to an industry need to align training with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulators compliance requirements.
Space may be the final frontier, but the Australian space sector is poised for rapid growth by the end of this decade, bringing with it economic opportunities and technological advancements. Growth in this industry will require a reliable pipeline of skilled workers.
Workforce plans will need to adapt to changes in industry sectors and mature over time.
Transition to Net Zero
I appreciate the challenges the transition to Net Zero presents for the workforce in ISA’s sectors, who will be at the forefront of change.
JSA’s ‘The Clean Generation Report’ shows that transport makes up around one-fifth of Australia’s total emissions with most of that coming from road transport.
Reaching Net Zero by 2050 will require substantial change across all transport sectors and JSC workforce plans will play an integral role.
The role of these plans in helping to align training courses with the needs of emerging industries.
Its all part of our plan for A Future Made in Australia.
A future that will secure our long-term economic prosperity and resilience by moving to a net zero economy and by skilling our workers for a clean energy future.
JSAs Clean Energy Generation report found significant skills shortages in critical clean energy occupations.
Supporting the Net Zero transformation is a national priority under the NSA – recognising that a skilled workforce is a vital element of Australia’s transition.
The Clean Energy Capital Investment Fund will provide $50 million over three years to pay for new and existing facility upgrades across a range of clean energy occupations.
The Albanese Government is also supporting apprentices and helping them complete their qualifications – this includes the New Energy Apprenticeship Program and expanded eligibility for support as part of a Future Made in Australia.
Over 3,900 New Energy Apprenticeships have been engaged since January 2023. There are still more opportunities for people to start a New Energy Apprenticeship.
Apprentices are now eligible to train in clean energy occupations and receive up to $10,000 to support their study and cost-of-living.
And, as part of our $325 million commitment under the NSA to establish a network of TAFE Centres of Excellence, we have already announced joint funding for:
- A Clean Energy Centre of Excellence in WA;
- An Electric Vehicles TAFE Centre of Excellence in the ACT;
- A clean manufacturing centre in the Hunter Valley of NSW; and
- A Clean Energy (Batteries) TAFE Centre of Excellence in Queensland.
These institutions will deliver innovative, world-class training to rapidly scale Australia’s EV capability and develop the skilled workforce that Australia needs to manage the transition to Net-Zero.
Conclusion
The transition to Net Zero is firmly putting the ‘Future of Work’ at the front of my mind for skills and training in Australia.
We are committed to skills, training and education to create sustainable jobs through a Future Made in Australia.
The workforce plans that JSCs develop are critical to identifying further opportunities for ways we can work together to support your sectors.
ISA has made a tremendous start on this. One I know you will continue to build on.
The best way forward to achieve our shared goals is by working together. It is how I see the Albanese Government working in the skills and training space.
I look forward to working with ISA to achieve our shared goals.
Thank you.