Page 3332 - Week 11 - Thursday, 22 September 1994
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Madam Speaker, one of the initiatives of the Commonwealth's Working Nation statement is the decision to expand Jobstart arrangements to the public sector. The Department of Public Administration is currently looking at ways in which these subsidies can be used to increase teenage employment in the public sector and thereby increase the skill levels of unemployed people who could then compete for work in the private sector. The number of trainees which the Government currently takes on and the increase in Commonwealth subsidies could mean that it will be worth while for the ACT Government Service to operate as a group training scheme. This option is being closely examined.
The ACT Government Service is taking steps to become a registered training provider. This will ensure that the high quality of our training is maintained. I also believe that it is important that the ACT Government look at its own performance as an employer of young people. In this context, I have also asked the Department of Public Administration to examine, as a matter of priority, means by which the ACT Government can increase its capacity to provide employment opportunities on merit to teenagers. I have also asked the Minister for Education and Training to give priority to expanding the number of occupations in which traineeships are available to young people and employers in the ACT and to explore the possibilities for innovative arrangements such as group traineeship schemes for the management of trainees in particular occupations.
As members may be aware, the Commonwealth Government recently established the National Employment and Training Taskforce - Nettforce - and gave it the task of expanding the number of traineeships nationally. Along with the national training wage award, this will present unemployed people and employers with a greater range of options.
While there are still some issues to be resolved, the ACT will be working with the Commonwealth to increase opportunities for longer-term unemployed people through the Nettforce arrangements. In addition, I have asked the Minister for Education and Training to look at ways of informing impending school leavers and the wider community about the school to work transition. Students and their parents need to be aware that the period of unemployment which many school leavers may face will, for most of them, be relatively short. School leavers also need to understand that those with lower levels of schooling are less likely to make a successful transition. On the other side, employers and the wider community should know that, overall, the ACT education system turns out school leavers who have good employment skills and who can make a real contribution to the community.
Madam Speaker, I would now like to turn to the recent Working Nation package released by the Prime Minister and its effect on the ACT. As I have already mentioned, the ACT Government is looking at ways to use the subsidies available for the public sector to assist with training for unemployed people. The Prime Minister recently wrote to me about the Working Nation initiatives. He pointed out that the Australian Public Service is a traditional leader in implementing labour market programs and that this commitment would continue through the implementation of Working Nation. Of particular interest to the ACT is the Commonwealth's commitment to recruit an additional 2,000 trainees in 1994-95, many of whom will be located in the ACT. I have advised the Prime Minister
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