Page 4703 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 10 November 2009
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Mr Doszpot spoke at some length about concerns around resources and funding, capacity and infrastructure, and enforcement and tracking, especially in relation to the non-government sector. I can respond by indicating that on the funding side the government has already invested over $90 million to tackle skill shortages in the territory, $2.8 million for 27 registered training organisations and over a quarter of a million dollars for a dedicated support team to work with young people studying at the CIT vocational college. At the inquiry into the achievement gap only a few weeks ago, we heard from the CIT about a program that is delivering fantastic results. In fact, it is probably the single largest education and training provider for young people in the territory—larger than any of our secondary colleges—and is providing support in an alternative setting for students who find mainstream education settings not suitable. It is a terrific initiative and one that we want to continue to see go from strength to strength.
I acknowledge Ms Porter’s contribution to the development of the SPICE program and, as she indicated in her speech, more than $800,000 has been provided in support of that outstanding program. An initiative in a recent ACT budget was to provide $3.4 million towards transition support teachers working in that important transition from high school to college. So we have undertaken a lot of work in this area. We have mapped transition and attainment programs across government and we are reviewing support and career programs provided in schools. We have invested very heavily in the Canberra Institute of Technology—nearly $25 million over four years for capital upgrades in new facilities, for example, in horticulture and electro-technology. We continue to strengthen the partnership between the CIT and our schooling system—this is a matter that I will return to in a moment—with a number of collaborative partnership plans being developed in the last two years.
We are receiving $1.65 million from the commonwealth to introduce the new youth commitment, to review structured workplace learning, to implement VET learning in alternative programs such as those I am very pleased to see supported by the opposition, such as CCCares, and to implement career education earlier in our schools.
On the matter of capacity, we estimate that between 100 and 400 students are not currently learning or earning. Within our schools and training places we do have the capacity to support this increase in enrolments. We are investing over half a billion dollars in capital works in our schools, in new classrooms and new state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities.
As the minister for all schools, I can advise the Assembly that the youth commitment will include non-government schools and systemic Catholic schools. Agencies, trainers and employers will commit to inform the Department of Education and Training if a young person chooses another option or drops out of their enrolled education or training program.
Employers have obligations as well. That said, skill shortages and tight labour markets are not a new phenomenon for ACT businesses, so the implementation of this learn or earn policy is an opportunity for employers to train up young apprentices. I can assure the Assembly that very strong relationships already exist between
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