Maritime Workforce Position Paper Launch

Thanks for the invitation to be here today.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we’re gathering and I pay respects to their Elders past and present.

I would also like to recognise the Victorian Minister for Ports and Freight, Melissa Horne, who’s here today.

Australia has long depended on its maritime sector.

As an island nation, our ports are vital hubs for imports and exports.

That’s why one of our key election commitments was the establishment of a Strategic Fleet – to strengthen our economic and national security.

In order for that to succeed it’s essential that we have enough skilled workers, not just for the strategic fleet but the broader maritime industry.

Skills are at the core of nearly every major challenge and opportunity we face as a nation.

Net Zero, A Future Made in Australia, building 1.2 million new homes, caring for older Australians and educating our youngest.

When we came to government just over two years ago, we inherited a neglected and fractured vocational education and training sector, and the biggest skills shortages in more than half a century.

The shortages were across all sectors of the economy, including the maritime sector.

The Maritime Workforce Position Paper being launched today points to the skills shortage in the maritime industry and some of the causes.

This shortage was also identified in the Strategic Fleet Taskforce Final Report, which has informed early actions the Albanese Government is taking to attract more people to the maritime industry.

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to supplying skills to the maritime sector is paucity of training.

There are only a small number of dedicated courses for the sector and training costs can be high.

The lack of training berths to get sea time is a problem well known to all of us.

Since coming to office, we have been rebuilding fractured relationships with States and Territories, standing up critical institutions and delivering skills in priority sectors, along with support for the learners who need it.

So much of what we are doing to reform vocational education and training is complex – it involves many different people, institutions and perspectives.

But we’re making good progress.

In January this year, the landmark National Skills Agreement commenced.

This 5-year deal – the first of its kind in a decade - will drive investment in skills and provide the foundations for enduring reform.

The Agreement is the first to embed shared stewardship to provide national leadership on skills for shared national priorities.

The Skills Agreement will unlock up to $30 billion investment in the vocational education sector.

And at least 70% of Commonwealth funding will go to TAFEs.

We’ve established Fee-Free TAFE in partnership with States and Territories, to help remove financial barriers to acquiring skills in areas of demand.

Last year alone, 355,000 Australians enrolled in Fee-Free TAFE.

And we’re rolling out an additional 320,000 Fee-Free TAFE and VET places nationwide over the next three years.

And some of those places are helping the maritime industry.

Courses like the Certificate II and III in Maritime Operations are being offered through Fee-Free TAFE.

These courses provide crucial skills for near coastal roles in the maritime sector.

They may also provide transferable skills, which could be considered towards internationally recognised qualifications.

Industry-commissioned reports like the Maritime Workforce Position Paper are important to the Albanese Government.

We seriously consider them as part of wider research when developing policy.

We also rely heavily on Jobs and Skills Australia and our 10 Jobs and Skills Councils, which are providing us with a broad and integrated picture of workforce needs and responses.

Together, they are central to setting the course to help address workforce challenges.

Industry Skills Australia is the Jobs and Skills Council with oversight of the broader transport and logistics sector, including the maritime sector.

Industry Skills Australia is working with key stakeholders, including many of you here today, to address issues around the supply of skilled workers to the maritime sector.

Some of the work that Industry Skills is already undertaking is consistent with recommendations in the Workforce Position Paper and includes:

• Establishing a National Maritime Skills Network that will bring together training providers for nationally consistent quality training, a better geographical spread of course offerings and improved access for learners. 
• Working with Jobs and Skills Australia to establish an independent and authoritative evidence base on the size and composition of the requisite workforce through a Maritime Supply and Demand Study.
• Developing information and resources to promote career pathways for the maritime industry. Part of this work will include mapping and identifying entry and career progression pathways for new and existing maritime sector employees, and potentially transitioning from other industries.
• And importantly, examining potential models to support the coordination of access to training berths for maritime trainees.

All of this work will underpin the establishment of a skilled workforce for the Strategic Fleet as committed to by the Albanese Government.

It will also support the broader maritime industry.

The challenges in the maritime sector are well known to me and my office due to the advocacy of many of you in this room.

I know you all are working hard to encourage more people to get trained and into maritime jobs.

So is the government.

You are an essential industry.

An industry that Australians rely on in their everyday lives.

I look forward to continuing this work together.

Thank you.