❓ Mr. Logan raises concerns about the termination of 75 WesTrac apprentices and asks the Minister to find alternative employers and ensure continued TAFE studies. The Minister assures efforts are being made to support the apprentices and secure their contracts.
AnsweredQoN 863Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTRAC — REDUNDANCIES
863. Mr F.M. LOGAN to the
Minister for Training and Workforce Development:
Before I ask my question, I
acknowledge that today is the birthday of the member for Collie–Preston!
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, do you want to break out into song?
Mr
F.M. LOGAN : I will take your guidance on that! The member for Collie–Preston
is the second grumpiest man in the house, after the Premier! I will acknowledge
the Premier's birthday as well!
I draw the minister's
attention to the pending termination of 75 apprentices from WesTrac Belmont,
mostly first and second-year heavy-duty fitters.
(1) Will the minister direct his
department to find alternative employers to take on these apprentices?
(2) Will the
minister direct his department to ensure that the terminated apprentices will
be able to continue their studies and training at a suitable TAFE college,
without cost, to ensure that they are not lost to the industry?
(3) If no to (1)
and (2), why not?
863. Mr F.M. LOGAN to the
Minister for Training and Workforce Development:
Before I ask my question, I
acknowledge that today is the birthday of the member for Collie–Preston!
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, do you want to break out into song?
Mr
F.M. LOGAN : I will take your guidance on that! The member for Collie–Preston
is the second grumpiest man in the house, after the Premier! I will acknowledge
the Premier's birthday as well!
I draw the minister's
attention to the pending termination of 75 apprentices from WesTrac Belmont,
mostly first and second-year heavy-duty fitters.
(1) Will the minister direct his
department to find alternative employers to take on these apprentices?
(2) Will the
minister direct his department to ensure that the terminated apprentices will
be able to continue their studies and training at a suitable TAFE college,
without cost, to ensure that they are not lost to the industry?
(3) If no to (1)
and (2), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) I
thank the member for Cockburn for the question. It is a good question in the
sense that members will have read and heard about the recent decision by
WesTrac to sack a number of employees; I think the figure was around 400.
Obviously included in that is a number of apprentices. I put on the record
that, in my view, WesTrac has an outstanding record with its program for
apprenticeships, particularly in industries that support the resources sector.
When I was a principal in the agricultural college system, something that young
men and women aspired to was to get a WesTrac apprenticeship; it is obviously
held in high regard. In answer to the first part of the member's
question about whether every effort is being made to support the continuation
of the apprenticeship contract, the short answer is yes: the ApprentiCentre,
which works out of the offices of the Department of Training and Workforce
Development, has engaged with WesTrac, including having staff on that site, to
work with those individuals on an individual basis to see if they can secure
and maintain their contracts. If they are not able to secure an employer to
carry on that contract, they are looking at circumstances in which they might
keep their contract open with a state training provider so that every effort is
made over time to provide the opportunity for someone to pick up a new
employer. I am very conscious of those potentially displaced apprenticeships.
The department is working very hard to secure those contracts with other
employers and, where it cannot, it is trying to buy as much time as it can to
provide the best chance of that happening.
thank the member for Cockburn for the question. It is a good question in the
sense that members will have read and heard about the recent decision by
WesTrac to sack a number of employees; I think the figure was around 400.
Obviously included in that is a number of apprentices. I put on the record
that, in my view, WesTrac has an outstanding record with its program for
apprenticeships, particularly in industries that support the resources sector.
When I was a principal in the agricultural college system, something that young
men and women aspired to was to get a WesTrac apprenticeship; it is obviously
held in high regard. In answer to the first part of the member's
question about whether every effort is being made to support the continuation
of the apprenticeship contract, the short answer is yes: the ApprentiCentre,
which works out of the offices of the Department of Training and Workforce
Development, has engaged with WesTrac, including having staff on that site, to
work with those individuals on an individual basis to see if they can secure
and maintain their contracts. If they are not able to secure an employer to
carry on that contract, they are looking at circumstances in which they might
keep their contract open with a state training provider so that every effort is
made over time to provide the opportunity for someone to pick up a new
employer. I am very conscious of those potentially displaced apprenticeships.
The department is working very hard to secure those contracts with other
employers and, where it cannot, it is trying to buy as much time as it can to
provide the best chance of that happening.
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