Palaszczuk Government unveils skills investment

Training and Skills Minister Yvette D’Ath today announced $768.9 million of funding for Queensland’s 2017–18 Annual Vocational Education and Training (VET) Investment Plan.

Mrs D’Ath made the announcement while addressing the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) national conference in Brisbane, where she reaffirmed the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to a world-class VET system.

“This year’s $768.9 million VET Investment Plan will retain significant investment in apprenticeships and traineeships, certificate III and higher level qualifications, with $498.7 million allocated for these areas.

“As well as a strong focus on maintaining quality and compliance across the VET system, the plan will allow the introduction of longer term contracts for the delivery of training to apprentices and trainees, to provide more certainty for businesses to invest in their future.  

“It will feature a new focus on tailoring VET investment for priority industries, to support the development of a skilled workforce to meet forecasted jobs growth,” Mrs D’Ath said.

“These industries include tourism, to capitalise on the Commonwealth Games and to support the government’s long-term commitment to grow the sector.

“It also includes growth in the disability sector, to support the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

“The plan features a new regional focus which aims to reinvigorate local communities throughout Queensland with targeted interventions that better align skills supply with job demand, through our Regional Skills Investment Strategy announced in the budget.

“The plan’s allocation of $60.5 million for Skilling Queenslanders for Work will continue to provide direct assistance for Queenslanders to gain skills and qualifications to enter and stay in the workforce. We want to continue the success of this program and give the most vulnerable Queenslanders the support and training they need.

“Public training providers will also receive $209.7 million in grants tailored to offset the costs of delivery in priority areas.

“Maintaining a high quality VET sector is the responsibility of government, regulators, registered training organisations, employers, students and other stakeholders working in collaboration,” Mrs D’Ath said.

Mrs D’Ath said the Palaszczuk Government would continue to work with ACPET and other stakeholders as part of continuing discussions with the Federal Government about the future direction of national training policies.

“The previous five-year National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform has expired and the lack of a new agreement continues to create uncertainty for the VET system nationally.

“While states and territories remain committed to negotiating new national arrangements for VET, they also want to ensure training under the new Skilling Australians Fund will be high quality, sustainable and linked to the jobs needed for Australia’s economy.

“We need a stable funding source that isn’t tied to the number of migrant workers brought into this country.”

Mrs D’Ath said the State Government had taken significant steps to ensure that quality, responsiveness and flexibility remain centre pieces of Queensland’s training system, via a number of mechanisms to rebuild public confidence in the sector.

These included the establishment of the Queensland Training Ombudsman and Jobs Queensland, and the release of annual VET investment plans.

Mrs D’Ath congratulated ACPET for 25 years of contribution to higher education and training in Queensland, saying she looked forward to continuing to work with the organisation.

For a copy of the 2017-18 Queensland VET Investment Plan, visit training.qld.gov.au/vetinvestmentplan

Media contact: 0417 675 917