❓ Question regarding the Liberal-National government's efforts to increase Aboriginal training and employment. The Minister outlines initiatives including Skilling WA, Aboriginal workforce development centres, and employer support packages, highlighting positive outcomes.
AnsweredQoN 241Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
INDIGENOUS
TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
241. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Training and
Workforce Development:
Can the minister please advise the house of the Liberal–National
government's efforts to boost the number of Aboriginal people engaged
in training and employment?
TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
241. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Training and
Workforce Development:
Can the minister please advise the house of the Liberal–National
government's efforts to boost the number of Aboriginal people engaged
in training and employment?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Central Wheatbelt for the question and
indeed her interest in our collective responsibility for ensuring that
Indigenous people in Western Australia share in the prosperity of this state.
We know that the unemployment rate in Western Australia was
recently quoted as about 5.2 per cent. Although some things were highlighted by
the Treasurer, I think yesterday, about some transition within our economy,
that unemployment rate still remains a low figure compared with other areas of
the country. Indeed, it is considerably better than figures such as 27 per cent
in Spain. But the figure that concerns me greatly is that within the Indigenous
population in Western Australia, people are around five times more likely to be
unemployed than other Western Australians. That is a totally unacceptable
figure. Fundamental to getting a change in that situation, we need to put
priorities in place to get Aboriginal people into jobs. A job is the pathway to
overcoming many of the social challenges that that cohort has. Western
Australia has a plan called Skilling WA and the first priority of that plan is
to increase the workforce participation rate of those who are underrepresented
in our workforce. Of course, that includes a whole range of groups including
Aboriginal people. As part of that plan, we have an Aboriginal workforce
development strategy called ''Training together — working
together''. Around this state, under this Liberal–National
government, we have put in place a number of Aboriginal workforce development
centres—in Perth, Broome, Bunbury, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie. The
regional centres opened in 2011. Since opening, they have helped more than 600 employers
and about 1 000 Aboriginal jobseekers into employment and training. To me, that
is a fantastic outcome from that initiative that this government put in place.
During National Reconciliation Week, which was the week
before last, I launched a new information package for employers to assist them
with managing Aboriginal people into their workforce, to be more aware of the
cultural obligations and very practical strategies that they can put in place
to make Aboriginal employees welcome in their workplace and to manage a whole
range of cultural issues that they might not have otherwise been aware of or
have come across given the workforce that they perhaps had before. By just
those two initiatives, the Liberal–National government is doing what it
can to ensure that the Aboriginal population of Western Australia shares in the
prosperity of the state. So far we are seeing very good results and it
certainly remains one of our priorities to ensure that that is a goal of this
government.
indeed her interest in our collective responsibility for ensuring that
Indigenous people in Western Australia share in the prosperity of this state.
We know that the unemployment rate in Western Australia was
recently quoted as about 5.2 per cent. Although some things were highlighted by
the Treasurer, I think yesterday, about some transition within our economy,
that unemployment rate still remains a low figure compared with other areas of
the country. Indeed, it is considerably better than figures such as 27 per cent
in Spain. But the figure that concerns me greatly is that within the Indigenous
population in Western Australia, people are around five times more likely to be
unemployed than other Western Australians. That is a totally unacceptable
figure. Fundamental to getting a change in that situation, we need to put
priorities in place to get Aboriginal people into jobs. A job is the pathway to
overcoming many of the social challenges that that cohort has. Western
Australia has a plan called Skilling WA and the first priority of that plan is
to increase the workforce participation rate of those who are underrepresented
in our workforce. Of course, that includes a whole range of groups including
Aboriginal people. As part of that plan, we have an Aboriginal workforce
development strategy called ''Training together — working
together''. Around this state, under this Liberal–National
government, we have put in place a number of Aboriginal workforce development
centres—in Perth, Broome, Bunbury, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie. The
regional centres opened in 2011. Since opening, they have helped more than 600 employers
and about 1 000 Aboriginal jobseekers into employment and training. To me, that
is a fantastic outcome from that initiative that this government put in place.
During National Reconciliation Week, which was the week
before last, I launched a new information package for employers to assist them
with managing Aboriginal people into their workforce, to be more aware of the
cultural obligations and very practical strategies that they can put in place
to make Aboriginal employees welcome in their workplace and to manage a whole
range of cultural issues that they might not have otherwise been aware of or
have come across given the workforce that they perhaps had before. By just
those two initiatives, the Liberal–National government is doing what it
can to ensure that the Aboriginal population of Western Australia shares in the
prosperity of the state. So far we are seeing very good results and it
certainly remains one of our priorities to ensure that that is a goal of this
government.
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