Over two days at the beginning of September, the Federal Government hosted a Jobs and Skills Summit at which some 150 representatives of employers, industry groups, and unions plus, of course, politicians, discussed the economic challenges facing Australia.

The purpose of the summit was to move things toward what the Government’s stated goal ‘to build a bigger, better trained and more productive workforce; boost incomes and living standards; and create more opportunities for more Australians to get ahead and to reach their aspirations.’

So what was the result of this summit?

A couple of headline-making takeaways included the proposal to tackle the workforce shortage by initiating a one-off income credit so that Age Pensioners who want to work can earn an additional $4,000 over this financial year without losing any of their pension; and an increase in the permanent Migration Program ceiling to 195,000 (from 160,000) in 2022-23.

Along with these initiatives, the Government flagged another 34 that it had agreed to tackle immediately, and about the same number that would require further discussion. Those to be looked at straight away included:

• An additional $1 billion in joint Federal-State funding for fee-free TAFE in 2023 and accelerated delivery of 465,000 fee-free TAFE places;
• More flexibly utilising $575 million in the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to invest in social and affordable housing, and attract financing from superannuation funds and other sources of private capital;
• Modernising Australia’s workplace relations laws, including to make bargaining accessible for all workers and businesses;
• Amending the Fair Work Act to strengthen access to flexible working arrangements, make unpaid parental leave more flexible and strengthen protection for workers against discrimination and harassment;
• Improving access to jobs and training pathways for women, First Nations people, regional Australians and culturally and linguistically diverse people, including equity targets for training places, 1,000 digital apprenticeships in the Australian Public Service, and other measures to reduce barriers to employment;
• Extending visas and relaxing work restrictions on international students to strengthen the pipeline of skilled labour, and providing additional funding to resolve the visa backlog

Regarding issues with the nation’s workforce, further discussions will be held regarding developing ‘a blueprint to support and grow a quality VET workforce’ and ‘explore options to improve the apprenticeship support system and drive-up completions.’

The migration system will also get further scrutiny. There was discussion around the idea that migration should not simply be about bringing in workers to fill workforce gaps, but about assisting them to put down roots, particularly in country towns and regional areas. Partly with that in mind, the Government committed to expand pathways to permanent residency for temporary skilled sponsored workers, examine the potential for industry sponsorship of skilled migrants, and consider policies to address regional labour shortages and how to improve small business access to skilled migration, amongst other measures.

The Government flagged that many of the ideas coming out of the summit would be explored further as part of the Employment White Paper, aimed at helping to shape the future of Australia’s labour market. It said it will release the terms of reference for the White Paper and begin accepting submissions later this month.

At a press conference following the Summit, Treasurer Jim Chalmers was predictably upbeat about the discussions and the outcomes that had resulted.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work that’s gone into this Jobs and Skills Summit,” he said. “I’m very proud of the areas we have identified for immediate action and for further work as well. I want the Australian people to know that this effort to find common ground doesn’t end on a Friday afternoon in Canberra. This, I hope, is the beginning of a new era of co-operation and finding consensus, trying to find that common ground in the interests of a common purpose and the common good.”

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (September 2022) 

19 September 2022