National Skills Week highlights Gold Coast’s training talent

The rise in trainee and apprenticeship numbers is showing the Palaszczuk Government’s record investment of more than $1 billion in training and skills is paying off, with people on the Gold Coast getting the qualifications they need for the jobs of the future.

Minister for Training and Skills Development Di Farmer said ‘RE-THINK’, the theme of this year’s National Skills Week, encouraged Queenslanders to take a good look at the many and varied careers available through vocational training.

“Wherever you are in Queensland, you deserve the opportunity to get world class training to help you get the right job,” Minister Farmer said.

“There has never been a more important time to do this, and that’s why the Palaszczuk Government put investing in training and skills at the heart of our $14.2 billion COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan.”

Member for Gaven, Meaghan Scanlon, said the government was supporting young people across the Gold Coast with free training.

“We have free apprenticeships and free TAFE for under 25s across 165 priority skills areas including construction, health, and disability support services,” Ms Scanlon said.

“And the figures show that it’s paying off: 45,700 apprentices and trainees started in the last financial year, which is a huge 56.6% rise on the year before.

“That includes nearly 6,800 right here on the Gold Coast.

“Queensland is also the national leader in school-based apprenticeships and traineeships with 57% of the national total.”

Ms Scanlon said having the right facilities was vital to ensure Queenslanders continue to get world-class training.

“That’s why we have invested over $220 million into renewing and revitalising TAFEs across Queensland since 2017 with another $100 million to come,” Ms Scanlon said.

“Investment here on the Gold Coast includes more than $30 million to improve trades training at Ashmore and health training at Southport, $10 million for the Robina campus, and $11 million for the Coomera Marine Training Centre.

“This will ensure our thousands of apprentices and trainees have world class facilities to train in and get the skills they need to change their lives.”

For Ashmore resident Lachlan Blow school was tough, he often skipped class, got expelled numerous times and moved from school to school in hopes of getting on the right track. 

“I did not like school at all, I felt like I was not good enough to do anything, I had no confidence or direction,” Lachlan said.

While still in high school, Lachlan enrolled into a Certificate II in plumbing through TAFE Queensland’s ‘TAFE at School’ program at Ashmore campus, and for the first time he enjoyed learning and felt like he belonged. 

The now 20 -year-old is just weeks away from completing a 4-year plumbing apprenticeship with Todd’s Plumbing and Electrical under the Palaszczuk Government’s Free Apprenticeships for under 25s funding.

“Since starting at TAFE Queensland, my life has changed and through encouragement from my teachers I found the confidence to pursue an apprenticeship,” Lachlan said. 

“I now have goals and dreams that I once never thought were possible.

“At school I always struggled to ask for help, but my TAFE teachers gave me reassurance that no question was too silly and with that I gained the confidence to speak up when I needed guidance."

To other young people looking for direction or a new learning experience, Lachlan said consider starting a ‘TAFE at School’ program or an apprenticeship.

“An apprenticeship is the best thing in the world to do – you will never look back. It will open up possibilities you may not thought were possible,” he said.

Minister Farmer said vocational education and training was vital to Queensland’s economy.

“We know that if you get the right training, you’re more likely to get the right job,” Minister Farmer said.

“I’d encourage every single person reading this to go and look up all the rewarding, lucrative and prestigious career opportunities available through vocational education and training.”

National Skills Week, which runs from August 23 until August 29, is an opportunity to raise awareness of the power of vocational education and training and the wide range of qualifications that lead to rewarding careers now and into the near future.

For more information about National Skills Week visit nationalskillsweek.com.au, or to learn more about subsidised training opportunities available to eligible Queenslanders visit desbt.qld.gov.au.

Media contact: Kate Talbot, 0439 803 211