Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Would the Prime Minister outline to the House how the government’s Skills for the Future policy is helping unskilled Australians? How does this policy help to create jobs and build a stronger economy?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hasluck for his question. In answering it I note that, in March 1996, unemployment in the federal division of Hasluck was 7.4 per cent; it is now 3.5 per cent. That is a product of the job-creating policies of the government over the last 11 years. I have some very good news for the member for Hasluck and for people who are interested in skills generation in this country. Last October the government announced the Skills for the Future policy package, which included, amongst other things, a new work skills voucher for unskilled Australians. These vouchers are for up to $3,000 worth of training for an individual. This is, crucially, for more mature-age people who have not completed year 12 or the equivalent qualification or certificate II or higher level qualifications. The original decision was to allocate 10,000 vouchers to cover the period from 1 January 2007 to 30 June 2007. We thought at the time that the allocation of 10,000 vouchers for the first six months would be adequate. But such has been the popularity of this proposal, such has been the popularity of the scheme, that, to date, in less than six months—indeed, in just under five months—a total of 14,216 vouchers have been issued. That indicates that this program has been an outstanding success. As a result of the success of this program, the government has decided to uncap the number of vouchers for the remainder of this year.

Importantly, of the 14,216 vouchers issued to date, more than 6,000 have gone to unemployed Australians. This helps to strengthen their capacity to get work. When you bear in mind that the level of unemployment in Australia is at a 32-year low and that long-term unemployment—that is, people who have been out of work for more than a year—is at its lowest level since that series began to be compiled, and has fallen by 22½ per cent in the last 12 months, these vouchers represent a very practical contribution towards helping those in the workforce and those wanting to get into the workforce to improve their skills so that they can either get a better job or increase their chances of obtaining a job. This is the kind of practical measure that the nation needs in order to upgrade its skills. It is a recognition that there are still far too many people, particularly middle-aged men, in the workforce who lack skills but who do not lack the motivation to improve themselves. The popularity of these vouchers indicates a sense of hope and optimism amongst those in the workforce and also a sense of hope and optimism amongst that dwindling number of Australians who remain unemployed.