WA: Investing in a skilled workforce
By Geoff Gallop, Premier of Western Australia
Western Australia is the state of opportunities, and Labor is making it happen.
Date: 08 January 2006
Dr Gallop, WA Premier, with mining industry employees.
My government wants all young Western Australians to have the opportunity to realise their potential, no matter what their background or where they live. It’s about investing in young people – for their long-term job prospects and for the state’s growth for decades to come.
I want Western Australia to have the best education and training system in the nation and a record $3.5 billion will be spent on our education and training system this year.
Labor made an election commitment to increase the number of apprentices and trainees to 30,000 by 2009. At the time, we thought it an ambitious target. However, such is the growth in our economy, and the growth in demand for skilled labour, we’ve already achieved the 30,000 target – in a matter of months, not years.
Since 2001, the number of apprentices and trainees rose from 18,700 to 30,000 – an increase of 60%, and twice the national rate. This has been a great start.
We’re now leading the nation in skilling apprentices in traditional trades to help meet the high demands generated by the state’s vibrant economy.
But more needs to be done. We want our economy to keep on growing strongly; we want the state’s booming resources sector to remain globally competitive; and we want to continue to invest in a skilled workforce.
That is why my government announced an additional $31 million over the next four years to ensure that Western Australia has the skilled labour to sustain our growth.
This $31 million commitment means that, over the next four years, there will be an extra 14,000 training places throughout the state.
Key elements
There are three key elements to this strategy.
Firstly, we will once again increase the number of apprentices and trainees. We’ll do this by setting a target of having nearly 33,000 apprentices and trainees by 2009. This means that over the next four years, an additional 11,700 places will be provided. And the biggest growth will be in the critical trades – in metals, manufacturing and services, building and construction, automotive, and electrical.
Secondly, we want to continue to encourage young people to take-up an apprenticeship without having to leave school. This is being largely spearheaded by our School Apprenticeship Link program, which was trialled this year. I’m delighted that the trial has been so successful, particularly for Indigenous students and those in regional areas. We’re now going to expand the program to train over 2500 students by 2009.
Lastly, we’re going to expand the trade skills recognition program. Over the next four years, an additional 4000 workers will be able to get their existing skills and industry experience formally recognised. This will then allow these workers to gain employment in their relevant industry.
This extra $31 million is building on the work we’re already doing – it shows Labor’s determination to tackle the skills shortage.
NOTE: Dr Gallop's speech to State Conference is available under 'downloads' on this page.
