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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 788 asked in the Legislative Council on 7 September 2020 by Hon Charles Smith

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

YOUTH — UNEMPLOYMENT

788. Hon CHARLES SMITH to the Minister for Education and Training:

I refer to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data suggesting an increase in WA youth unemployment to 36 000, or 16.7 per cent, for July, which is the highest rate for 2020. I also refer to the 17 500 people in the youth demographic who have dropped out of the labour force in WA, adding up to a potential 53 500 young Western Australians looking for work.

(1) Does the McGowan government concede that it must take priority action in helping WA's youth get back into employment?

(2) Does the McGowan government concede that it should immediately terminate the foreign graduate occupation list, which has over 135 employment positions for international students to apply for in WA, enabling them to compete with locals for scarce starter jobs?

(3) Did the McGowan government take into consideration the Productivity Commission report that outlines how competition with temporary visa holders could affect the youth labour market in a number of negative ways in its plan to put Western Australians back to work?

(4) If not, why not?

Hon SUE ELLERY replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.

(1) The McGowan government is making it a priority to help Western Australia's youth get back into employment. On 2 July 2020, the Premier and I announced $57 million to slash TAFE fees by up to 72 per cent, deliver free short courses and offer new employer incentives to re-engage displaced apprentices and trainees.

There are now 73 reduced-fee courses available to young people, with caps in place to ensure that people aged 15 to 24 years pay no more than $400. The 15 TAFE short courses were developed in consultation with industry to ensure that we are targeting the types of skills WA needs now and into the future for the state to recover and are 100 per cent free to people aged 15 to 24 years.

The $229.2 million Rebuilding our TAFEs plan, as part of the $5.5 billion WA recovery plan, includes a record $167.4 million investment in capital works projects to upgrade essential TAFE infrastructure and create world-class learning opportunities for young people, boost capacity and enhance training delivery. This is the biggest TAFE investment in history to upgrade TAFE campuses across the state and create a pipeline of jobs.

On 28 July 2020, the Premier and I also released the report from the review of skills, training and workforce development and the state government response. The McGowan government has committed to advancing all recommendations from the review, including making training in critical areas with high jobs growth more affordable and accessible for young people, and establishing new jobs and skills centres in youth unemployment hot spots such as Midland and Armadale.

(2) The graduate stream of the state nominated migration program is currently on hold, with no new applications being received.

(3) The temporary visa program is the sole responsibility of the Australian government and the state government does not have any input into its policy.

(4) Not applicable.

Thanks for the question, you dolt!

Hon Charles Smith: I didn't ask about TAFE!

Hon SUE ELLERY: The member asked about young people.