VET system reforms will ease skills shortage, says Chris Evans

The Gillard Government intends to make radical reforms to Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) system, Senator Chris Evans has said.

Evans, the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, said the government will take a reform package to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in April.

Unless Australia’s VET system is significantly altered, Evans said, our industries will suffer a shortfall of 500,000 skilled workers in the next five years. 1.6 million people will complete qualifications to Certificate III and higher levels by 2015, but Skills Australia estimates we will need an additional 2.1 million qualified people in the workforce - a gap of around half a million qualified workers.

“Jobs for more highly skilled Australians are growing at 2.5 times the rate of other jobs but the pool of workers with the skills needed for these jobs is not keeping pace,” Evans said.

“To meet this shortfall, the government is determined to increase the number of skilled Australians, create a more responsive training system and make the system more transparent and accessible.”

A new skills reform National Partnership Agreement between Australia’s states will receive $1.75 billion over five years from the government and will help Australian workers access government-subsidised training up to Certificate III level and student loans for diploma and advanced diploma students so they can defer their payment until they start working.

“On the ground, this means there will be more training options on offer in more places,” said Evans.

“Put simply, skills determine access to jobs and can transform lives.”