❓ The Minister for Training outlines initiatives to support young people entering the building and construction industry, including driver's licence programs, job-ready programs, and support for apprenticeships, addressing workforce demands.
AnsweredQoN 162Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BUILDING
AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
162. Mr S.N. AUBREY to the Minister for Training:
I refer to the McGowan
Labor government's commitment to creating a pipeline of skilled workers
in Western Australia's building and construction industry.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house how this government is helping young people find
employment in the building and construction industry?
(2) Can the
minister outline how these initiatives are providing a boost to WA's
building and construction workforce?
AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
162. Mr S.N. AUBREY to the Minister for Training:
I refer to the McGowan
Labor government's commitment to creating a pipeline of skilled workers
in Western Australia's building and construction industry.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house how this government is helping young people find
employment in the building and construction industry?
(2) Can the
minister outline how these initiatives are providing a boost to WA's
building and construction workforce?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
I thank the member for this question because it is important to have an
opportunity to talk about the practical things that this government is focused
on to match young people with the jobs we know are out there. Particularly when
it comes to the construction industry, there is huge demand at the moment, and
we are doing everything we can to work with government agencies across the
board, with private industry and with training providers to link up people, and
particularly young people, with those jobs that we know are out there.
It is sometimes said that learning
to drive gives us the keys to freedom, but for young workers a driver's
licence is also the key to employment. The program I was out talking about with
the Premier this morning is a $1.25 million program funded by the Construction
Training Fund. It will allow 120 young people, most of them in their
pre-apprenticeship training in the construction industry, to focus on their
driving skills in order for them to get their licence. It is a very practical
program. It is largely a response to the feedback we were getting from
employers, particularly in 2021 during the Jobs and Skills Summit when a number
of employees across the board, but particularly in construction, said they
really needed young people to get their
drivers' licences. It is not always a requirement for a job, but in the
construction industry it really will give them the edge in getting
employment in the industry and for many it will just mean the practicalities of them getting to different jobs.
We were there with the Construction Training Fund's driver's licence training support program. This program will focus on giving 120 young
people assistance to get their driver's licence. It is a pilot program
that will go to the middle of next year, and then it will be assessed to see
whether it is a good use of Construction Training Fund money.
Can I give a shout-out to a couple
of young people we met this morning. Shea Dall from Quairading took me off-road
for a bit of four-wheel drive training. I also acknowledge Noah Walters, who
took the Premier for a spin and demonstrated
his extreme emergency braking skills. How was that, Premier? We were all impressed
by Tatianna Bergen from Baldivis Secondary College, who did a great job
speaking about how this program will help her
achieve her desire to start a career in scaffolding and perhaps in the mining industry.
It is a great practical program
and it complements the work being done via the Minister for Transport, which is
a $10 million driver access and equity program focused on helping disadvantaged
young people, particularly in regional and
remote areas, to get their driver's licence. We have a range of
different programs to make sure we give young people those practical
skills.
Members have heard me talk in this
chamber before about the amount of work we are doing on vocational training,
whether it is assisting young people getting their driver's licence or
assisting people getting into the
construction industry; it is very practical. We have job-ready programs in
infrastructure and bricklaying . These are industry-backed programs—short,
sharp training for new job entrants. There is a $32.4 million program to help
small and medium–sized businesses access an additional 300 apprentices
and trainees through group training organisations. Again, that is hugely
practical assistance for those many small and medium–sized businesses
that are not able to commit to taking on an apprentice but want to do their bit
to assist people training in industries. I think many of us have had exposure
to group training organisations and know
what good work they do. Finally, there is $3.4 million to support employers
take on more mature age apprentices in the construction trades. These
are the sorts of things we are doing to make sure we get workers into the
construction industry as quickly as possible, get them skilled up and not only
meet those immediate needs in the industry, but have ongoing jobs in the
future.
I thank the member for this question because it is important to have an
opportunity to talk about the practical things that this government is focused
on to match young people with the jobs we know are out there. Particularly when
it comes to the construction industry, there is huge demand at the moment, and
we are doing everything we can to work with government agencies across the
board, with private industry and with training providers to link up people, and
particularly young people, with those jobs that we know are out there.
It is sometimes said that learning
to drive gives us the keys to freedom, but for young workers a driver's
licence is also the key to employment. The program I was out talking about with
the Premier this morning is a $1.25 million program funded by the Construction
Training Fund. It will allow 120 young people, most of them in their
pre-apprenticeship training in the construction industry, to focus on their
driving skills in order for them to get their licence. It is a very practical
program. It is largely a response to the feedback we were getting from
employers, particularly in 2021 during the Jobs and Skills Summit when a number
of employees across the board, but particularly in construction, said they
really needed young people to get their
drivers' licences. It is not always a requirement for a job, but in the
construction industry it really will give them the edge in getting
employment in the industry and for many it will just mean the practicalities of them getting to different jobs.
We were there with the Construction Training Fund's driver's licence training support program. This program will focus on giving 120 young
people assistance to get their driver's licence. It is a pilot program
that will go to the middle of next year, and then it will be assessed to see
whether it is a good use of Construction Training Fund money.
Can I give a shout-out to a couple
of young people we met this morning. Shea Dall from Quairading took me off-road
for a bit of four-wheel drive training. I also acknowledge Noah Walters, who
took the Premier for a spin and demonstrated
his extreme emergency braking skills. How was that, Premier? We were all impressed
by Tatianna Bergen from Baldivis Secondary College, who did a great job
speaking about how this program will help her
achieve her desire to start a career in scaffolding and perhaps in the mining industry.
It is a great practical program
and it complements the work being done via the Minister for Transport, which is
a $10 million driver access and equity program focused on helping disadvantaged
young people, particularly in regional and
remote areas, to get their driver's licence. We have a range of
different programs to make sure we give young people those practical
skills.
Members have heard me talk in this
chamber before about the amount of work we are doing on vocational training,
whether it is assisting young people getting their driver's licence or
assisting people getting into the
construction industry; it is very practical. We have job-ready programs in
infrastructure and bricklaying . These are industry-backed programs—short,
sharp training for new job entrants. There is a $32.4 million program to help
small and medium–sized businesses access an additional 300 apprentices
and trainees through group training organisations. Again, that is hugely
practical assistance for those many small and medium–sized businesses
that are not able to commit to taking on an apprentice but want to do their bit
to assist people training in industries. I think many of us have had exposure
to group training organisations and know
what good work they do. Finally, there is $3.4 million to support employers
take on more mature age apprentices in the construction trades. These
are the sorts of things we are doing to make sure we get workers into the
construction industry as quickly as possible, get them skilled up and not only
meet those immediate needs in the industry, but have ongoing jobs in the
future.
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