Training and skills
12. Ms Divina D'Anna to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's ongoing investment in skills and TAFE.
(1) Can the Premier advise the house how this record investment is helping equip Western Australia with the skills we need today and in the future?
(2) Can the Premier outline to the house how quality training will help keep WA's economy the strongest in the nation?
Mr Roger Cook replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the question—it is an important one. If investment is the fuel for our economy, then workforce is the spark that fires the engine of our economy.
This morning, I joined the Minister for Skills and TAFE in visiting students at the North Metropolitan TAFE in Balga. The Balga campus is a hub for the building and construction training sector and has seen generations of builders, contractors and tradespeople go through that particular facility. Its class of 2025 is the first to enjoy the $51 million in upgrades to that campus. Among the upgrades is the new construction skills innovation hub. It is a world-class facility that is equipping apprentice after apprentice with much-needed building and construction skills. It was there I met WA's next generation of homebuilders, like Ruby, a third-year tiling apprentice who will be qualified at the end of the year, or Max, a fourth-year bricklaying apprentice who has followed in his dad's footsteps as a builder. These individuals are benefiting from the WA Labor government's free TAFE program. They are among a record number of students enrolling in TAFE courses across the state.
This year, enrolments have surged. The year 2024 achieved a new record high of around 165,000 enrolments. More than 46,000 of these enrolments were by students in fee-free TAFE qualifications and skill sets. The biggest growth in enrolments was in the building and construction courses, up almost 260% on the year before. We have seen extraordinary growth also in care and early childhood education courses. These are the workers that we need right now. These are the workers who will power our residential construction industry, our commercial construction industry and the growth in our human services area, particularly in early childhood education and care and in disability care. We are also creating new facilities that will train our emerging defence, manufacturing and clean energy workforces.
Some new members in the chamber may not be aware of the previous government's TAFE legacy. I am sure that members of Parliament will be pleased if I take some time now just to explain how TAFE fared under the Liberal–National government. It cut TAFE infrastructure investment. It watched apprenticeship and traineeship numbers absolutely collapse. The most disgraceful part of its policies was an increase in course fees of up to 510%. It is little wonder that in the wake of that neglect, Mr Speaker, enrolments in TAFE dropped by around 120,000. Can you believe that any state government would take steps to actually reduce the workforce that is available to our industries and reduce the opportunities for young Western Australians to get a quality job? It was a shameful chapter in our education and training history and it has taken a great deal of determination to turn it around, but today's enrolment data represents a 40% increase on that low ebb in our training history.
Talk to any industry and it will tell us that workforce demands and workforce availability are amongst its greatest challenges at the moment. Training the workforce that we need is part of our plan to keep WA the strongest economy in the nation. Free TAFE is a critical part of that plan. Free TAFE courses provide not only affordable career pathways for young Western Australians, but also a pipeline of skilled workers for our industries, a boost to our capacity to make more things here and support for a future that is made in WA.
