Interview with Leon Compton – ABC Hobart

LEON COMPTON, HOST: Let's have a chat to our next guest, the Federal Minister for Skills and Training. The promises and the campaign trail is ramping up in Tasmania in the lead up to a Federal election in either April or May. Andrew Giles is the Minister for Skills and Training in the Federal Government and is in the state at the moment to announce our Clean Energy Centre of Excellence at TasTAFE in Burnie. The project to be a joint venture between the State and Federal government. Andrew Giles joins us this morning. Minister, good morning to you.

THE HON ANDREW GILES MP, MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING: Good morning, Leon. Great to be with you.

COMPTON: Can you explain what would happen at this proposed Clean Energy Centre of Excellence in Burnie?

GILES: Yeah, sure Leon. What we're announcing today is a really big commitment between the Albanese Government and the Rockliff Government to ensure that the great advantages Tasmania has when it comes to the clean energy transformation can be secured for Tasmanians. Making sure that they can access the skills that they want in areas that we need. Making sure too that we've got really close partnerships between industry, TasTAFE and the universities so that as skills evolve people can continue to upskill and gain those skills that are so critical for them to get and hold good secure jobs in those industries, particularly in the regions.

COMPTON: So, what sort of skills? What sort of courses would be taught there? What sort of skills?

GILES: Yeah, right across electrotechnology. So, part of it is about making sure that we've got the training workforce that works. A big part of this is also to make sure, recognising the nature of Tasmania, that there's residential accommodation, there'll be 25 units there so people can come and gain those skills. It's about also ensuring that we're engaging with industry so that there's a better understanding of what job opportunities there are and will be across this exciting sector of the economy.

COMPTON: It is exciting except Tasmania has the problem of taking an eternity to either approve or say no thank you to renewable energy projects where they come up and are proposed. I mean this is a fundamental issue for the State Minister. It ties into the previous conversation about salmon we were having before news at nine o'clock and fundamentally there are many projects sitting on the drawing board and long lag times while these get looked at at a state and federal level.

GILES: Yeah, look, I mean I think we would be saying that the current legislative framework across the board that was introduced under the Howard Government has not been delivering the sort of certainty that people have been looking for and we do need to get quicker and more certain decision making. Of course, the other element to this is making sure that we have the skills to take advantage of all of these opportunities. It's clear that when we came into government, Australia had the worst skill shortage in 50 years, second worst across the entire OECD. That's been my focus, including obviously investing in Free TAFE so that more people can gain more skills to be part of the opportunities that the economy is generating.

COMPTON: Minister, is this an election promise or is the money officially been allocated out of the federal budget to work with the state to make this happen?

GILES: The money has been allocated. It's part of the five-year $30 billion National Skills Agreement. This is the 11th such announcement of a centre of excellence. This is money that is allocated right now, an equal partnership in large part between our two governments but also with some additional federal funding so we can get things moving quickly.

COMPTON: When will it happen?

GILES: Well, I'm about to head to TasTAFE in Burnie with Minister Ellis at 10:30 to kick the whole thing off. So, we're going to get going right from today.

COMPTON: On Mornings around Tasmania, you can join us too. Fundamentally though, and I want to come back to this, clean energy projects here are stalled through significant appeals process, delays, getting answers to questions about environmental impact. Isn't the fundamental job that your government has struggled with to get renewables projects either accepted or rejected more quickly so that workers know what they're doing?

GILES: Well, I think we have shared aspirations certainly here in Tasmania between the state government and the Albanese Federal Government about boosting our renewables. We've got shared commitments that are ambitious and are absolutely essential too when it comes to pretty much everything from managing the cost of living to making sure our industrial development can continue. There are obviously going to be issues that need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis under the current framework which we've just touched upon. Now, my focus, as you would appreciate, is making sure that one aspect of this challenge, the skills aspect, is met. We have been lagging behind in a range of areas and we need to be prepared for the future as the skills needs evolve. That's my focus today.

COMPTON: Minister, just more widely, you must have spent as much time as anyone thinking about this. In Tasmania, we still have a fundamental issue with kids at school really understanding what it is to go into a trade, understanding clearly about the pathways, but importantly the opportunities that exist in getting apprenticeships. We understand there is a trade training shortage in Tasmania of young people coming into that pipeline or mature people. How do we do that better?

GILES: Yeah, look, this is a really big challenge and it's not one that was created overnight. As you say, it is something that I think about a lot. I start with this proposition, though. Nine in ten jobs right now require some form of post compulsory education. I think that's well appreciated. What I think is not as well understood is that half of those jobs require a VET qualification, not a degree. So, we've got to be clear in schooling and with parents in a national conversation about the importance of VET pathways and then to incentivise them. We do that in large part through Free TAFE, which has been a runaway success, particularly in Tasmania. But there is more to be done. Incentivising apprenticeship pathways is another really critical piece of work. We've incentivised those in the clean energy space with a $10,000 bonus. Priority apprenticeships more broadly, $5,000. We're committed to if we win the next election to that $10,000 also applying to apprenticeships in the construction, the residential construction space. So, we're trying across the board to link incentives to the areas where we know there's demand for really, really good jobs. But there is of course more to be done and as I say, there a big role for government, but it's a community conversation as well.

COMPTON: Appreciate you joining us this morning.

GILES: Great to be with you, Leon.

COMPTON: Andrew Giles, Federal Minister for Skills and Training.