Meeting of federal, state and territory skills ministers
Federal and State Skills and Training Ministers met to reset negotiations on the National Skills Agreement, and strengthen Australia’s TAFE and training sector.
Ministers agreed that cooperation on strengthening the skills sector is critical to addressing skills shortages and creating a more productive economy, and undertook to work together in a genuine partnership, and develop joint ambitions for our skills system.
All jurisdictions confront skills and labour shortages across multiple industries and workforce pressures.
According to the OECD, Australia is experiencing the second most severe labour shortage in the developed world.
Nine out of ten jobs of the future will require a vocational education and training (VET) qualification or a university degree.
The wide-ranging discussion made it clear that it is critical the Australian workforce is equipped with the right skills now and into the future.
Ministers committed to working in partnership to continue to grow the pipeline of skilled workers and prioritise skills reform through a collaborative and coordinated negotiation process.