Southern Metropolitan Region Apprenticeships
By John Berger
29 AUGUST 2023
My adjournment is for the Minister for Training and Skills, Minister Tierney. The action that I seek is for the minister to join me in my community of Southern Metro and meet with the many apprentices that are building the projects of the future. We are backing our apprentices, and we need their skills, talent and energy to deliver our big and bold Big Build. From the Level Crossing Removal Project to the North East Link and Metro Tunnel, these projects are making a huge difference to my community, and that is why we are full steam ahead on making sure that no potential chippie or sparky, plumber or fitter, is held back from pursuing the career of their dreams.
Look at the success of our trade apprentice registration discount scheme. If you are an apprentice using your car for work, you may be eligible to get 100 per cent off your rego renewal, and free TAFE courses speak for themselves. From the certificate III in concreting or civil construction to a cert IV in agriculture and dairy production, we are backing in the jobs of the future, the jobs we need the most. Each year we are introducing new free TAFE courses, so this year you could be studying a free TAFE course in battery electric vehicle diagnose and repair skill set or learning about the essentials for being a mental health peer worker. We are making sure our TAFEs offer outstanding vocational education and training to support the assistance that apprentices need to get on site now. I am proud that many of these TAFEs are in my community of Southern Metro. That includes Holmesglen Institute, which has educated tens of thousands of my constituents.
Two years ago the Minister for Training and Skills unveiled the Big Build apprenticeship program. This is a great example of how the Andrews Labor government is building a workforce for the future and delivering for all Victorians, and that has played a key role in projects in my community like the North East Link, helped on by the North East Link Skills and Jobs Centre. From the $3.2 million new Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at Melbourne Polytechnic’s Heidelberg campus to the $12 million SEC centre of training excellence, we are backing in jobs for the future. Free TAFE has removed barriers for more than 130,000 students. I will be excited to look back in 10 years and see how much of a big difference this program has made to our state, and I hope the minister will join me in that.