Skills focus essential if we’re to create a workforce for the future

THE federal budget was an opportunity for the government to get labour force participation and employment for all Australians on the agenda.

LAST week’s federal budget was an opportunity for the government to get labour-force participation and employment for all Australians on the agenda.

It was mixed a bag, with some programs on the right track, but plenty of room for greater focus on training and skills development.

Australia’s labour force participation rate has been on the decline in recent years: youth unemployment is 12.5 per cent and as high as 20 per cent in some areas, and one in four part-timers want more work.

The wage subsidy for mature workers (Restart) is a welcome step in the right direction for the Australian economy. It will encourage employers to reconsider engaging older, more experienced workers as part of their overall workforce strategy, as well as help increase workforce participation.

Many mature-age workers will need retraining in some areas. I encourage employers to be proactive and take on a mature-age employee who has 75 per cent of the skillset needed to fill a role, and use the reimbursement from the subsidy to invest in getting that worker up to speed.

Mature workers should be viewed as an untapped resource; this subsidy will help to reintroduce them to the workforce and promote a healthy change in attitude and hiring practices.

At the other end of the spectrum, countering growing unemployment among young Australians, as well as the underemployment rate, needs to be a national priority. Providing relevant education and skills training is vital to engaging these groups.

The changes to skills programs in the Industry Skills Fund puts employers at the centre of decision making and focuses on delivering the skills needed by industry. The policy allows for $476 million in funding, providing more than 100,000 training places and 74,000 support services over four years. However, it seems to rob Peter to pay Paul, scrapping 10 programs to deliver a saving of more than $1 billion.

The Tools for Trades payment initiative has been scrapped in favour of the Trade Support Loans scheme, effectively cutting funding for apprentices from $228.65m a year to $87.8m a year. The new scheme offers apprentices up to $20,000 in loans and an incentive to complete their apprenticeship in the form of a reduced loan.

With the changes to Newstart and the introduction of Work for the Dole, it is critical that any programs implemented are not simply focused on hours worked, but also on developing hard and soft workforce skills and work ethics.

I’d like to see the government implement workforce reforms that will lead to greater productivity and participation. More investment in training is needed. Promoting a sustainable employment plan means skills and training policies need to be part of a broader, sophisticated approach of workforce planning by employers and the government alike.

The economy is changing, as is the way we work. It is imperative we drive industries through research and innovation. For that to happen we need a skilled workforce. Implementing traineeships, apprenticeships and upskilling through on-the-job and formal training courses will move our labour force into the next century.

Industry, federal and state governments, and educational institutions need to collaborate to ensure everyone who wants to work has access to the right training and skills to make the most of job opportunities that exist now and in the future.

Lincoln Crawley is the managing director of ManpowerGroup Australia and New Zealand.