❓ The Minister outlines how the Whiteman Park tramline extension will provide hands-on training for North Metropolitan TAFE students, building a skilled workforce for the rail industry. The response also contrasts the current government's investment in TAFE with the previous Liberal-National government's actions.
AnsweredQoN 32Legislative Assembly
Asked
14 February 2024
Member
Portfolio
Minister Assisting the Minister for Training and Workforce Development
QuestionView source ↗
METRONET —
PROJECTS — TRAINING AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
32. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister Assisting the Minister
for Training and Workforce Development:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to
providing quality training opportunities for all Western Australians.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the extension of the Whiteman Park tramline
to the new Metronet Malaga station will provide hands-on training opportunities
for students at North Metropolitan TAFE in Midland?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this opportunity is building a pipeline of
skilled workers for the rail industry?
The SPEAKER : The Minister Assisting the Minister for
Training and Workforce Development.
PROJECTS — TRAINING AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
32. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister Assisting the Minister
for Training and Workforce Development:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to
providing quality training opportunities for all Western Australians.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the extension of the Whiteman Park tramline
to the new Metronet Malaga station will provide hands-on training opportunities
for students at North Metropolitan TAFE in Midland?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this opportunity is building a pipeline of
skilled workers for the rail industry?
The SPEAKER : The Minister Assisting the Minister for
Training and Workforce Development.
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
Thank you, Speaker, and I acknowledge that that is a mouthful! I thank the
member for Forrestfield for my first question in Parliament as a minister. I acknowledge
the member's longstanding commitment to Western Australian workers and
training our future workforce.
The announcement on Sunday by the
Premier and Deputy Premier; Minister of Transport to extend the Whiteman Park tramline to the new Metronet
Whiteman Park train station was fantastic for Whiteman Park , for North
Metropolitan TAFE, current and future students, and our local rail industry. I thank
and congratulate them both. As the Deputy Premier said yesterday, the project
will connect the old with the new. As Minister Assisting the Minister for
Training and Workforce Development, I could not be prouder of the partnership between Metronet and North
Metropolitan TAFE on this project. That partnership will see two cohorts
of TAFE students involved in the project, a trainee program for proponents
involved with the delivery of the Whiteman Park station and an entry-level
pathway program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students preparing
for careers in rail. Students in the Koomba Birdal Big Spark Program will learn
trackside work skills, including onsite safety and maintenance. Rail industry
TAFE students will receive hands-on training, including with a purpose-built
rail welding truck. The students will work
onsite constructing the rail, supervised by North Metropolitan TAFE's
experienced rail lecturers . All students will also have exposure to and
contact with future employers working on Metronet. Our local rail industry will benefit from trainees who will
have the practical, hands-on skills to successfully transition to a rail
infrastructure work crew.
The Cook government understands
the transformative role of training and education. We know that it improves lives. That is why we are committed to
building partnerships like this one between Metronet and our North Metro
TAFE. It is why we have boosted access to quality education with fee-free and
low-fee TAFE courses and invested massively
in our TAFE campuses across the state. As all here know, the WA Labor
government has prioritised creating local skills and jobs. As the Premier
mentioned yesterday, for nearly a century we have built and maintained nearly
all the rail rolling stock and train engines in the Midland workshops. Sadly,
under the Liberal–National government of the day, they were decimated,
and that government, as we all know, ripped
the heart out of that workforce community and closed the Midland workshops in the 1990s. The government of those opposite was the death of
railcar manufacturing in WA, and this Labor government has brought it back to
life. As we all know, under the last Liberal–National government, TAFE
fees were hiked by over 500 per cent, course enrolments plummeted, and the
number of student enrolments crashed. Under our WA Labor government, our TAFEs
and their role in supporting local jobs and industries are tracking—do
not pardon the pun; it is there intentionally!—one way, and that is up.
There are now more than 130 fee-free courses at TAFE, and student enrolments are
growing. Last year there were almost 39 500 enrolments in fee-free TAFE
courses. Enrolments for 2024 are still being finalised; however, there have
been a record number of applications to study fee-free courses in 2024. The
Cook government's investment in fee-free TAFE training is supporting
thousands of Western Australian students to kick off their training in 2024 and
prepare for the workforce of the future.
The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe with the last
question.
Thank you, Speaker, and I acknowledge that that is a mouthful! I thank the
member for Forrestfield for my first question in Parliament as a minister. I acknowledge
the member's longstanding commitment to Western Australian workers and
training our future workforce.
The announcement on Sunday by the
Premier and Deputy Premier; Minister of Transport to extend the Whiteman Park tramline to the new Metronet
Whiteman Park train station was fantastic for Whiteman Park , for North
Metropolitan TAFE, current and future students, and our local rail industry. I thank
and congratulate them both. As the Deputy Premier said yesterday, the project
will connect the old with the new. As Minister Assisting the Minister for
Training and Workforce Development, I could not be prouder of the partnership between Metronet and North
Metropolitan TAFE on this project. That partnership will see two cohorts
of TAFE students involved in the project, a trainee program for proponents
involved with the delivery of the Whiteman Park station and an entry-level
pathway program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students preparing
for careers in rail. Students in the Koomba Birdal Big Spark Program will learn
trackside work skills, including onsite safety and maintenance. Rail industry
TAFE students will receive hands-on training, including with a purpose-built
rail welding truck. The students will work
onsite constructing the rail, supervised by North Metropolitan TAFE's
experienced rail lecturers . All students will also have exposure to and
contact with future employers working on Metronet. Our local rail industry will benefit from trainees who will
have the practical, hands-on skills to successfully transition to a rail
infrastructure work crew.
The Cook government understands
the transformative role of training and education. We know that it improves lives. That is why we are committed to
building partnerships like this one between Metronet and our North Metro
TAFE. It is why we have boosted access to quality education with fee-free and
low-fee TAFE courses and invested massively
in our TAFE campuses across the state. As all here know, the WA Labor
government has prioritised creating local skills and jobs. As the Premier
mentioned yesterday, for nearly a century we have built and maintained nearly
all the rail rolling stock and train engines in the Midland workshops. Sadly,
under the Liberal–National government of the day, they were decimated,
and that government, as we all know, ripped
the heart out of that workforce community and closed the Midland workshops in the 1990s. The government of those opposite was the death of
railcar manufacturing in WA, and this Labor government has brought it back to
life. As we all know, under the last Liberal–National government, TAFE
fees were hiked by over 500 per cent, course enrolments plummeted, and the
number of student enrolments crashed. Under our WA Labor government, our TAFEs
and their role in supporting local jobs and industries are tracking—do
not pardon the pun; it is there intentionally!—one way, and that is up.
There are now more than 130 fee-free courses at TAFE, and student enrolments are
growing. Last year there were almost 39 500 enrolments in fee-free TAFE
courses. Enrolments for 2024 are still being finalised; however, there have
been a record number of applications to study fee-free courses in 2024. The
Cook government's investment in fee-free TAFE training is supporting
thousands of Western Australian students to kick off their training in 2024 and
prepare for the workforce of the future.
The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe with the last
question.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.