THIS YEAR'S Federal Budget must make meaningful and long-term commitments to fund apprentice and trainee recruitment, retention and support initiatives.  That’s the advice from the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the peak body representing independent providers in the skills training, higher education, and international education sectors.

“A decade ago, the then Australian Government slashed apprentice and trainee incentives directed to both commencement and completion in critical skill areas for the economy," ITECA chief executive Troy Williams said. "This saw recruitment levels crash by around 59 percent by 2019 on 2012 levels, despite efforts of some states and territories.

"This decline was only arrested with the introduction of Covid-era employment subsidies,” Mr Williams said..

With apprenticeship and traineeship numbers having grown in recent years, ITECA is calling for the Australian Government to commit to long-term incentives to ensure that employers are able to keep apprentices and trainees on throughout the course of their training.

“The duration of an apprenticeship is often four years from commencement to completion.  Government incentives that last for a year or two do not provide potential apprentices, trainees, employers or training organisations with the confidence to engage meaningfully and long-term in the ways needed,” Mr Williams said.

Consistent with ITECA’s established reputation for member-driven policy leadership, the independent skills training sector has provided recommendations to the Australian Government as part of the consultations to support the development of this year’s federal budget.

“ITECA members have advised the Australian Government that a subsidy of 30 percent be provided in the first year of apprenticeships and traineeships, without limitation by any list.  Further, ITECA members have also advised that the completion incentives be reinstated at a minimum of $5,000 to the apprentice or trainee on the completion of their training,” Mr Williams said.

The emphasis on the completion incentive is a critical component of the support mechanism, according to the ITECA membership.

“Without the completion incentive, the initial incentives are a disservice to employers in the first instance, as well as to the apprentices and trainee.  We need the Australian Government to support apprentices, trainees and employers for the duration of their training,” Mr Williams said.

To provide employers and the skills training sector with confidence, ITECA members recommend that the new arrangements be implemented over the medium-term.

“As they consider taking on an apprentice and trainee, employers need confidence that the policy settings of today will provide, as a minimum, the support available over the term of the apprenticeship and traineeship,” Mr Williams said.

Government data referenced in the ITECA State Of The Sector Report shows that over the past four years, the number of apprentices and trainees with independent Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) has grown by more than 60,000.  The report shows that there were 182,220 apprentices and trainees with independent providers, that’s 52.2 percent of all apprentices and trainees in the skills system.

www.iteca.edu.au

About the ITECA

Founded in 1992, the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) is the peak body representing independent Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and higher education providers.  Independent RTOs support more than 87 percent of the 4.3 million students in skills training and around 10 percent of the 1.6 million students in a higher education awards program.

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold a public hearing with the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Philip Lowe, and other senior RBA officials on Friday, February 17, 2023.

Committee Chair, Daniel Mulino MP, said, "Since the committee’s last public hearing in September last year, the RBA has raised the cash rate one percent — a cumulative rise of 3.25 percent since the RBA started hiking rates in May 2022. Right now, inflation is the primary challenge to Australia’s economy, with the latest CPI inflation figures reaching 7.8 percent over the year to the December quarter.

"This sharp increase in rates, unprecedented in recent times, has been creating pressure across households and the economy. While the RBA’s view is that inflation is likely to have peaked around the end of 2022, there is still considerable uncertainty in the economic outlook with further interest rate increases expected in the months ahead," Dr Mulino said.

"The committee takes its scrutiny of the RBA very seriously and will continue to examine how the challenges of tackling high inflation are evolving. The RBA’s mandate of returning inflation to the 2 to 3 percent range over time is vital, and there are many domestic and global factors that will need to be addressed."

Public hearing details

Date: Friday 17 February 2023
Time: 9.30am – 12.30pm
Location: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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THE House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport will hear from Australians living with long COVID and other post-viral illness at a public hearing on February 17, 2023 at Parliament House in Canberra.

The Chair of the Committee, Mike Freelander MP, said, "Listening to Australians living with long COVID about their experiences, journey to diagnosis and treatment is a key role of this inquiry.

"The committee appreciates the time taken by many people with long COVID who wrote to us to share how the condition has deeply impacted many aspects of their lives. Our next public hearing will unpack some of the issues raised in these submissions in more detail  so we can consider how to better support long COVID patients now and in the future."

The committee will also hear from the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (NACCHO) and a roundtable of experts jointly organised by the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Deputy Chair of the Committee, Melissa McIntosh MP, said, "The roundtable convened by the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences will bring together experts in areas such as infectious diseases, epidemiology, immunology, mental health and public health. This is a great opportunity for the Committee to hear from individuals at the forefront of COVID research and treatment."

The committee will hear from the Department of Health and Aged Care about what the Government is doing to respond to the new challenges for Australia’s healthcare system presented by long COVID and repeated COVID infections and is also looking forward to hearing from NACCHO with its valuable insights into the primary care response to COVID-19 in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Further information about the inquiry, including the terms of reference and published submissions are available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Friday, 17 February 2023
Time: 8am – 5pm AEDT
Location: Committee Room 1R3 (until 12.10pm) and 2R1 (from 1.00pm), Parliament House, Canberra

Program:

8am–8.30am: National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
8.30am–9.20am: Department of Health and Aged Care
9.20am–9.50am: Mr Bruce Sedgwick and Ms Sophie Sedgwick, private capacity
9.50am–10.20am: Associate Professor Nada Hamad, person with lived experience of long COVID (by videoconference)
10.20am–10.50am: Break
10.50am–11.30am: Australian Long COVID Community Facebook Group
11.30am–12.10pm: Session on lived experience of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) (by videoconference)
12.10pm–1pm: Break
1pm–5.00pm: Roundtable with experts organised jointly by the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
5pm: Public hearing close

The public hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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THE House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources has launched an inquiry into advanced manufacturing, with the aim of further supporting Australian industry, creating jobs and reviving the country's ability to make world class products in Australia.

Committee Chair Rob Mitchell MP said understanding opportunities associated with advanced manufacturing was crucial for strategic growth.

"Supporting the growth of advanced manufacturing is about enhancing the things we do well by taking advantage of new and improved processes," Mr Mitchell said.

"We need to ensure that we are well-positioned as a nation to take advantage of new technologies, and that our strategic decisions are informed by the right data. Continuing to grow the relationship between industry and our research sector is also vital.

We want to hear from stakeholders across industry, our tertiary sector and government about what it will take to make things better – and how we can ensure reliable growth within Australia’s manufacturing sector."

Submissions for the Inquiry into Developing Advanced Manufacturing in Australia are now open. The inquiry Terms of Reference can be found at aph.gov.au/isr.

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