Interview with Eddie Williams - ABC South East NSW Breakfast

E&OE Transcript 

EDDIE WILLIAMS, HOST: You're with Eddie Williams on ABC Riverina and ABC Southeast, and just a few minutes ago you were hearing about the seven very lucky TAFE New South Wales students who were in the pits this week for the Bathurst 1000. They're the next generation of professionals in their field, and Australians are expected to need a lot more TAFE educated workers over the coming years in all manner of fields, whether that's carpenters to build the houses that the country needs, hospitality workers to meet growth in tourism, or electricians trained for an energy transition.

The Federal Government's been announcing some plans to try to encourage more enrolments in vocational education and training, and the Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, is in Batemans Bay today. Minister, good morning.

MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING ANDREW GILES: Great to be with you, Eddie, good morning to you.

WILLIAMS: What brings you to the South Coast this week?

GILES: Well my good friend Fiona Phillips, the local member, is keen to have me down talking to some businesses and some apprentices about their experiences, and I'm really keen to hear from them about their journey so far, how some of the decisions that we've made as a government, Fee‑Free TAFE which has now racked up than half a million enrolments, and a lot of the cost‑of‑living support we're providing to apprentices, how this is making a difference to people embarking on a journey either starting their working life, or in many cases people taking advantage of the opportunities we're providing to change their career to one of those areas that you just touched on that are so important, building houses, being part of the net‑zero transition, being part of a future that's made in Australia.

WILLIAMS: New small business perspectives report out this week. It did identify those worker shortages as one of the big challenges for small business. What's the feedback that you get from small business owners that you talk to about those workforce challenges?

GILES: Getting around the country it's a very common message, and what we are doing is making sure that, firstly, we're providing Australians with the skills they need for the jobs that are growing our economy. We do know now, for example, that nine in 10 jobs that are being generated at the moment, require a post‑school qualification. And one thing that I think is less well‑understood is that half those jobs require a VET qualification, not a degree.

So I’m sharing that message and also recognise some of the other barriers that may be preventing someone from pursuing the career they want in a place they love, and that's why it's so important for me to be in Batemans Bay to understand how we can do better at making sure that people can access the training they want close to home so that we can understand the barriers and start breaking them down.

WILLIAMS: Let's talk about housing. There's a plan the Federal Government has for 1.2 million new homes around the country by the end of the decade. That's behind schedule at the moment. One part of the challenge is the worker shortage. Where do you start when it comes to overcoming that?

GILES: Well I think we've got to recognise that there isn't a panacea here. It's about a lot of different interventions. Skilled migration has a role. Last year we granted more construction visas than almost ever before. Making sure that we are supporting more people to enter this industry is critical to and giving Australians the skills they want and which we need.

A really large chunk of our Fee‑Free TAFE involvement has been in construction places and we've recently announced funding for 20,000 more such places. So we're really investing in workforce and trying to make sure that more people have the opportunity to be part of building the future quite literally and building homes. Something that I've been really focussed on around the country, working with my colleague the Housing Minister, Minister O'Neill, to make sure that we're leaving no stone unturned when it comes to ensuring that we've got the workers to build the houses Australians need.

WILLIAMS: I'll ask you about overseas skilled workers in a moment but is there a cultural issue still? Is enough being done to make sure that the idea of vocational education and training is one that's presented to high school students and presented as a, you know, really genuine and really dignified option?

GILES: Yeah, well there is more to do. We have done a lot in this regard. In particular I want to highlight the Universities Accord, which is really all about saying that both sets of pathways beyond school, whether it's to a degree or to a VET qualification are equal. That's a message we  got to bang home though around the kitchen tables of Australia.

There are so many good jobs out there that people can access through TAFE or through an apprenticeship. I think we can always do more to sell that message in schools, and there's a lot of work going on in State jurisdictions and I'm really pleased to work closely with Steve Whan in New South Wales on that.

But I think we can always do more to open people's eyes at the right time, whether it's in school or again later in life to some of these opportunities.

As I've been going around the country I've met a lot of people who are a bit older who are taking the chance, often thanks to the opportunities of Fee‑Free TAFE, to become an enrolled nurse, for example, something they may have dreamed of doing but not had the opportunity previously.

We have got to do more to think about the barriers. There's a big review that's been presented to government on incentives for apprentices. It's something that I'm looking at right now. Whether we get the right mix to encourage good bosses to take on an apprentice, and why do we ‑ what can we do better to encourage young people and older people too, to take that leap into an apprenticeship, particularly in those trades that are so important. We need to find more than 30,000 electricians in the next years. That's something that is a huge challenge, whether it's about Rewiring the Nation or rewiring the houses that we need to build.

So all of these things have got to be a focus. And I think we've also got to recognise that integrity in the training system's important. That's been a focus of introducing new standards and making sure that when someone undertakes an apprenticeship that they will be treated appropriately. They'll be given the skills they need and treated decently at work. There have been issues in the past. We've got to continue to ensure that there is a zero-tolerance attitude to that.

WILLIAMS: On that issue around overseas skilled workers, there's a new alliance, more than 50 business groups and unions that want an overhaul of the way Australia recognises overseas skills. They say there are 600,000 skilled workers in the country who have been left doing unskilled jobs, they're driving ride shares, they're stacking shelves because Australia won't recognise their qualifications. Is it time for a change in approach, especially in industries where there are shortages?

GILES: Yeah, look, I met with that group in Parliament this week and had a really good conversation. I would say that we made really significant investments in the last Budget when it comes to better recognising the skills of people who've come from overseas and who have skills that are relevant to construction. That's an investment that's already bearing fruit.

There are some great programs around the country, I think particularly in New South Wales where I am today, where the New South Wales Government has done some fantastic work, again in construction, in ensuring that we can do a better job of recognising prior learning so people can get to work at their skill level so much faster than has been the case in the past.

Again, I'm keen to think about how we can do better and get the balance right between two big elements here. One is ensuring, of course, that we are investing in challenging the next generation of Australians, and giving older Australians all the skills they need to be economically active and productive and lead fulfilling lives. But secondly, to make sure if someone comes here as a migrant they should also have every opportunity to fulfil their potential and contribute towards growing Australia.

WILLIAMS: Minister, thanks for your time.

GILES: Great to be with you, Eddie, cheers.