On 26 March I had the pleasure of representing the Minister for Skills and
Workforce Participation in the other place to officially open Victoria’s 11th
skills store in Warrnambool. The South West Skills Store is situated at the
South West Institute of TAFE in Warrnambool and is one of the 13 skills stores
being established across the state, with 9 being established in regional and
rural Victoria.
Victoria is facing a fast-growing demand for skills, with many
small to medium-sized businesses identifying lack of skilled staff as the major
factor preventing their expansion. Thus, since 1999, the state Labor government
has invested an additional $1.1 billion in our training system.
The central idea of the skills store is to take the message of
retraining, and especially the importance of recognising prior learning, out to
where people are. With the headquarters of the skills stores located in
Warrnambool and a mobile service operating across the region, the Brumby Labor
government is bringing skills training to the people. People can call, send an
email or simply walk into the skills store for free expert advice about their
current skills, future development options and the training they need to turn
their skills into qualifications.
On another note, but certainly relevant to the Brumby Labor
government’s commitment to skilling up Victoria, on 26 March I also had the
pleasure of launching the $275 000 Great South Coast — Growth through Skilled
Migration — Global Skills for Provincial Victoria partnership. It is a
wonderful partnership between local councils, employment services, employers and
training providers to build on the great work — —
The ACTING PRESIDENT (Mr Finn) — Order! The member’s time has
expired.