Well, the world is a very different place from the one it was several weeks ago, when I first started thinking about my address to you today.
There is a saying, ‘A week is a long time in politics’, but I think this could equally be said of world finances, given the tumultuous events that have unfolded in recent weeks, and the very different economic circumstances we are now living in.
While the global financial crisis began in the United States, it has affected every other continent across the world.
Globally more than 30 financial institutions around the world have failed or been bailed out and globally stock markets have suffered significant losses.
Yesterday the Treasurer released the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook which showed in the face of these major global challenges the Government is continuing to budget for surpluses in 2008-09 and across the forward estimates.
Real GDP growth has been revised down to two per cent while unemployment is forecast to rise to 5 per cent by the June quarter next year and to 5.75 per cent in June 2010.
As the Prime Minister has indicated, there are no easy solutions or quick fixes to this world economic crisis.
The consequences of this turmoil and a slowing world economy are of course dramatic and wide-ranging.
This is why the Government has taken decisive action, on many fronts, to stimulate the economy through its $10.4 billion economic security strategy.
This will provide relief to pensioners, carers, mums and dads but importantly create an estimated 75,000 additional jobs.
Another very important initiative is the boosted commitment to training through the Government’s Productivity Places Program.
This will help people who are outside the labour force retrain and get the skills they need to get back into those parts of the economy where employers are still crying out for skilled labour.
This is a central part of the Government’s economic platform designed to drive the skills agenda and putting people into jobs will be critical to seeing us through the tough times ahead.
But I also believe, now more than ever, it’s imperative that the sectors of the economy including all tiers of governments, industry and employers work together.
The Australian Government’s approach to employment participation has many parallels with the South Australian Government’s Workforce Development Strategy.
We recognise that the types of skills needed in workplaces are changing as a result of developments in technology and innovation, employment patterns, market pressures and the ageing of the labour force.
We recognise also that we need to support businesses to use innovation to improve productivity and stay globally competitive while at the same time taking better account of environmental considerations.
In turn, this creates a need for changes to work practices and the development of new “green skills”.
Responding to these rapidly changing demands for skills and labour will require more investment in education and training.
But, focusing on training alone will not deliver the more comprehensive workforce solutions needed to address skills and labour shortages and increase productivity.
We need to focus on better linkages between businesses and training providers to ensure that we respond to skills and labour needs.
Businesses must have workplace practices linked with their recruitment, training, career and retention strategies. While training providers must be able to respond flexibly to the needs of business and individuals.
They should be able to deliver customised, relevant training that is integrated with, and supported by, workplace learning opportunities, at times and places that suit enterprises and workers.
By working together we can expect a better return on our training investment.
Here in South Australia there are some excellent examples of best practice in workforce development and participation which have been spearheaded by genuine partnerships between the Australian and South Australian governments, industry and local communities.
For instance, the Eyre Mining Training Program, the Goal 100 Program and the Get SET program all represent groundbreaking projects which have provided real employment and training opportunities to unskilled, highly disadvantaged job seekers in regional SA
Eyre Mining Training Program
The Eyre Mining Training Program consists of five weeks of pre-employment and literacy and numeracy training, followed by a Certificate II in Open Cut Mining and a number of electives related to machinery operation.
As well as work experience placements, the program includes individual case management, brokering for employment opportunities with industries and post placement mentoring.
To date 61 people from the Eyre Peninsula have participated in the training, of which 43 are Indigenous people, and 42 were long term unemployed.
Important lessons were learnt from previous pilot programs conducted in Ceduna, particularly in relation to industry involvement, accommodation and transport issues and developing a better understanding of the mining job market in the region.
Goal 100 and Get SET Programs
The Goal 100 and Get SET programs are two other outstanding examples of training programs that have been developed to bring together the unique local needs of business while providing employment opportunities to a largely untapped potential pool of workers.
Both Goal 100 and Get SET are designed to provide employment opportunities to highly disadvantaged job seekers, including those potentially with drug and alcohol problems.
The 20-week Goal 100 project was developed following the realisation that Whyalla would not be able to meet its workforce requirements, given increasing pressure from mining companies for skilled workers.
OneSteel led the drive for overcoming the problem by tapping into the non-traditional pool of jobseekers that had been previously overlooked by employers in Whyalla.
Again a case management approach has been successfully adopted under this program along with considerable mentoring support provided throughout the duration of the training.
I am pleased to say that the program has achieved better than 70 per cent employment outcomes for the 250+ participants on the program to date.
As many of you would be aware, Goal 100’s outstanding success was acknowledged at this forum last year, where it was awarded the ‘Outstanding Project or Activity’ prize.
Experience from the Goal 100 and Get SET programs has shown that participants are highly effective in influencing their family and friends to participate in subsequent intakes.
This is evident in the most recent intake for the Get SET program in Port Augusta, with 90 expressions of interest being received for the 50 places available. Thirty of those selected and commencing were Indigenous.
One of the major lessons learnt from these projects is the need to link numerous education and employment programs; and Australian Government plays a key role in doing this.
Mitsubishi
Another undertaking which illustrates the cooperation between industry, government, unions and training and employment service providers is the response to the closure of Mitsubishi’s Tonsley Plant earlier this year.
The closure was a major blow to workers, their families and to the South Australian economy with 890 direct employees and 33 further redundancies from suppliers and contractors.
However the swift and co-ordinated response by Mitsubishi Australia, the Australian and SA governments, the AMWU, employment and training providers was a great example how joint efforts can minimise the impact.
A Mitsubishi Steering Committee, comprising members from Mitsubishi, responsible Commonwealth and state government departments, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, was established shortly after the announcement.
An on-site response team was established to provide individual, on-the-spot advisory services to workers.
Employment providers, registered training organisations and career counsellors were on hand to provide individualised services while Centrelink and financial advisers were also available.
An Employer Expo was held on-site at Mitsubishi, with more than 800 staff and contractors attending the Expo. Up to 75 employers from around Australia attended, with more than 625 vacancies on offer.
Affected workers were quickly informed of the range of assistance options available to them, including one-on-one support, training, help to establish new business opportunities, relocation assistance and wage subsidies.
Mitsubishi employees were able to access funding from both Australian and SA governments to undertake a variety of training opportunities to prepare them for work in other industries.
Recent figures show that 665 Mitsubishi workers and contractors had registered with an employment provider member, of which 443 have been placed in employment or full time education.
This is an excellent result with 66 per cent of registered workers already being placed in work, full time education and training despite recently being made redundant.
This is an improvement in outcomes for these workers compared to the Mitsubishi workers made redundant in 2006 where only 44 per cent of workers had been similarly placed 6 months after being made redundant
As well as the co-ordinated effort from all parties, the other major factors that worked in responding to the Mitsubishi plant closure were open lines of communications and the tailoring services to match the circumstances on the ground.
You will also be pleased to note that at the first meeting in a decade of state and territory Ministers in Melbourne held two weeks ago to discuss employment services, all governments agreed to strive for greater co-operation in service delivery and to reduce overlap.
However governments realise that the need to work with the private sector to achieve employment outcomes is paramount.
One of the biggest challenges our Government faces is in the field of Indigenous employment.
As part of the Government’s Apology to the Stolen Generations, the Prime Minister also committed to Halving the Gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment outcomes within a decade.
In 2006 only 48 per cent of Indigenous Australians of working age were employed compared to 72 per cent of other Australians.
Again – this is something Government cannot achieve in isolation. To harness the genuine enthusiasm for action in this area, the Australian Government commends the efforts by corporate Australia so far. The Government has also committed its support for the Australian Employment Covenant.
The AEC is an industry driven initiative led by Mr Andrew Forrest, CEO of Fortescue Metals Group, that aims to rally employers to provide employment for 50 000 Indigenous Australians
Under the Covenant, Indigenous Australians who want to work will be encouraged into training courses that will get them job ready.
The Government’s role is to help bridge the training-ready gap by matching this commitment with appropriate pre-employment training.
New Employment Services
Providing assistance to the Covenant is just one of the many efforts the Australian Government is undertaking to improve services to job seekers.
Following an extensive review process – which many of you here today may have been a part of – the Government has also announced it’s fundamentally reformed universal employment services.
This is to ensure that the right mix of training, work experience and other support is available to help job seekers find and keep work.
The Request for Tender for the $3.9 billion Employment Services Contract was released on 27 September and is due to close November 14.
The new services which begin on 1 July next year will ensure more responsive, better tailored and appropriately targeted employment services.
Under the new employment services, each job seeker will be placed by Centrelink into one of four streams, where they will receive a level of assistance commensurate with their level of disadvantage, and tailored to their individual needs.
Importantly they will be able to receive assistance at a time better suited to their needs, not after some pre-ordained fixed period which is how the current services work.
This individual assistance will include an Employment Pathway Plan to help the job seeker overcome both their vocational and non-vocational barriers to employment.
However the new services will have a strengthened focus on what employers need.
To encourage employment service providers to better understand the needs of employers and to genuinely help them find the workers they need, providers will receive increased fees when they work with an employer and place a job seeker in a job with that employer.
Also importantly for employers the new services will have a strengthened focus on Work Experience to increase work readiness skills that employers need.
Another key feature of the new employment services is a greater emphasis on training to ensure job seekers achieve sustainable employment.
The Productivity Places Program, which I mentioned earlier, is a key feature of the Government’s Skilling Australia for the Future initiative.
The Program encourages improved links between employers, industries and training providers, to ensure that training addresses critical areas of skills shortage.
There has been a huge demand for training since the Productivity Places Program began in April, with more than 50 000 jobseekers enrolled and over 11 000 having already completed their training in areas of skill shortage.
In light of this success, and prevailing economic conditions, the Government is investing a further $187 million in the program to create an additional 56 000 new training places this financial year to help keep the economy strong during the global financial crisis.
This funding injection effectively doubles the Productivity Places Program from 57 000 to 113 000 in 2008-09; and takes the Government’s total investment in training places to more than $400 million since April.
With a slowing global economy, the Government is committed to supporting and training jobseekers to ensure all those who can benefit from extra help are able to access these places.
These new places will help maintain the momentum the program has generated and provide more skilled labour to meet the needs of industry.
The new places will be available at Certificate II, III and IV levels, with 10 000 places to be allocated as ‘Structural Adjustment Places’ to provide specific retraining opportunities and targeted support to displaced workers.
These new places will take the Government’s total commitment to the Productivity Places Program to more than $2 billion with more than 700 000 new training places to be created over five years.
Here in South Australia, the response to the program has been very strong, with over 3832 enrolments, 2900 commencements and 847 completions.
South Australia is also one of the first states piloting places for existing workers. 1 880 places are expected to be rolled out before the end of 2008 as a precursor to the full implementation of the program from January 2009 when we expect the South Australian Government to take on delivery of both components of the program.
In concluding, we all know that we facing uncertain economic times.
And while globally it will be a long road to recovery, locally through a focused approach of co-operation and partnership between government, industry, unions and the community, I believe we can put ourselves in the best position to tackle the effects of the Global Financial Crisis.
Through examples that we have seen here in South Australia we know this approach works and achieves results.
So it’s up to all of you here today to continue to develop initiatives that will boost our workforce capability, increase the level of employment participation and help to secure Australia’s future.
I wish you well in your deliberations.