Page 4148 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 18 November 2015
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So while the Joe Hockeys of this world lament the ugliness of wind turbines, here in the ACT we are reaping the rewards not only of clean wind energy but by equipping the next generation of workers with practical skills that ensure they are at the forefront of a rapidly growing global industry. For people with these qualifications and skills, the sky will be the limit in career opportunities.
Neoen, which operates the Hornsdale Windfarm, is funding 30 scholarships of $5,000 each, showing just how valuable these skills will be to our local industry. Hornsdale is the biggest wind farm that will supply a third of Canberra’s electricity needs within two years under a 20-year deal with the ACT government. They will also base their Asia Pacific business headquarters in Canberra as part of the deal. Last month Minister Simon Corbell opened the renewable energy skills centre of excellence at CIT Bruce, which will help students gain the technical skills necessary for a rewarding career in the growing renewable energy industry.
I understand these skills are in such short supply in Australia that there may be times when technicians have to be brought in from overseas to help maintain this technology. This qualification will be particularly valuable as we grow our renewable energy industry. This is just one example of the Labor government enhancing our VET sector through reform and collaboration.
In the ACT we are fortunate to have a government that recognises the importance of a strong, public VET provider. As a result, we are able to rely on CIT to deliver high quality VET programs across a range of industry areas. In particular, we can rely on CIT to deliver training in areas that the economy needs that might not be appealing to private providers due to higher overheads. This includes qualifications in the traditional trades with high delivery costs, as well as qualifications in areas such as automotive, landscaping and IT where delivery costs can be high and enrolment numbers relatively low.
In addition, the ACT government has been exploring the benefits of contestability and increased consumer choice in the VET market. The introduction of skilled capital has increased the amount of contestable VET funding available and supports a vibrant, private training market in the ACT, as the minister just outlined. It helps links businesses and organisations with skilled workers.
We must remember that VET, unlike higher education, is open to everyone. We need to find ways of focusing on each individual student, building on their individual strengths and catering to their individual learning styles. This can pose special challenges because training must ensure that students from vastly different backgrounds and with a range of abilities are able to meet the same training outcomes. As the only public provider of VET in the ACT, CIT in particular plays a vital role in community development by providing pathways and access into education for members of the community as well as providing a wide range of support services for students.
CIT has contributed to the social capital of the ACT in a range of ways including: general education, including second chance year 12 programs, English language
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