Page 3632 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 13 September 2017
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competitions were held in Canberra surrounding National Skills Week. This included competitions in restaurant service, tiling, plastering and painting. Competitions in landscape construction, sheet metal and welding are happening over the next two weeks. The remaining competitions will occur in the following weeks through till the end of October.
Finally, the highlight of 2017 National Skills Week was the 2017 ACT training awards, held on 31 August, which showcased the commitment, innovation and outstanding achievements of all those involved in the ACT VET sector. It was a terrific night. There has been subsequent reporting of the winners of those awards. I take this opportunity to thank very much Mr Pettersson and Ms Cody, who attended, and also Ms Lee from the opposition.
MR PETTERSSON: How else is the government promoting STEM in vocational education and training?
MS FITZHARRIS: Through the government and Skills Canberra, there are a number of subsidies provided for training in many STEM-related industries. These include information communications and integrated telecommunications; electrotechnology; metal engineering and manufacturing; and surveying and spatial information.
These training packages have been identified as being highly relevant to STEM-related occupations in Australia. Qualifications from these training packages are included on the ACT skills needs list and subsidised under the ACT government skilled capital and Australian apprenticeships programs. Many training packages in the VET sector provide STEM skills and the sector is a strong contributor to STEM skills development within the Australian workforce.
The ACT has also recently applied for Australian government funding to develop an end-to-end skills education strategy for cyber security with a view to positioning Australia as a global leader in training for cyber security.
Skills Canberra is also working with the Australian Information Industry Association to understand the future and emerging skills needs within the ICT sector and, more broadly, ICT skill sets that may be relevant for workers in all industries. In addition, skill sets are also likely to be funded through ACT government programs in next year.
MS CODY: Minister, can you tell the Assembly about some of the ways CIT partners with other organisations to offer STEM programs?
MS FITZHARRIS: I thank Ms Cody for the supplementary. As you know, CIT, a wonderful Canberra institution, has many programs and partnerships offering STEM-related activities. CIT has recently partnered with the Canberra Innovation Network as well as two local start-up entrepreneurs to co-host facilities equipped with 3D body scanners, 3D printers, CNC cutters and robotics. STEM-based activities are also delivered with a range of CIT qualifications, and the use of aerial drones has been included as a specialised component within the CIT certificate IV and diploma of surveying.
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