The largest skills and training investment in South Australian history aims to address construction skills shortages
The South Australian government is investing a record $1.44 billion, on top of an additional $880 million from the Commonwealth, as part of the National Skills Agreement.
It will be the largest investment in skills and training in the state’s history and is designed to ensure apprentices and trainees are being trained and gaining jobs in trades and other crucial sectors for SA, including construction.
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The skills investment rolling out this year will focus on five key areas:
- Ensuring training places are available in areas of need
- Making sure students complete their course
- Having TAFE as the public provider at the centre
- High-quality training and making sure apprentices are safe at work
- Lifting the state’s skills level.
Over the next five years, the state government will support 160,000 new subsidised training places, in areas of critical need, with a total $225 million investment allocated for 2024-25 alone.
Construction is one SA sector that faces a skills demand, as the state focuses on large home-building projects and the construction of the River Torrens to Darlington project.
The investment for the year also includes:
- $13.4m to support students’ mental health and wellbeing to increase completion rates – giving them access to services such as counselling
- $2.7m in foundational skills training in literacy, numeracy and digital to give more South Australians the critical skills they need to find employment
- $21.9m to increase the number of training places offered through TAFE SA, with a focus on growing enrolments the regions
- $1.3m to increase compliance and audits to ensure high-quality training is offered.
- Up to $3m in equipment and capital grants to give students the best training with state-of-the-art equipment.