Items Tagged With "Skills"

Minister for Employment Participation, Mark Arbib, today said the Australian Government’s improvements to training packages will help grow a skilled workforce to meet future needs.

Speaking at the opening of the Service Skills Australia National Conference in Sydney, Senator Arbib outlined the government’s plans for ensuring the quality of Australian education and training.

Senator Arbib said the Australian Quality Training Framework would allow for more uniformity in training packages.

Member for Adelaide Kate Ellis today announced Federal Government funding for a project to build the skills and education of local young Muslim Australians.

“The Dulwich Centre Foundation will receive $49,500 under the National Action Plan to Build on Social Cohesion, Harmony and Security,” she said.

“The project will train local youth workers, teachers and community workers to run workshops that focus on young Muslim Australians’ own skills and knowledge in responding to challenges.”

The Rudd Government is allocating an additional $400,000 to help upskill workers in the kangaroo industry.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke said it is important that the 4,000 people employed within the kangaroo industry are equipped with the skills to best perform their jobs.

“The Rudd Government is committed to supporting jobs in regional communities and will continue to support the industry in meeting the increasingly stringent quality demanded by importing countries,” Mr Burke said.

The Rudd Government is reforming the permanent skilled migration program to ensure it is more responsive to the needs of industry and employers and better addresses the nation’s future skill needs.

The reforms will deliver a demand rather than a supply driven skilled migration program that meets the needs of the economy in sectors and regions where there are shortages of highly skilled workers, such as healthcare, engineering and mining. The major reforms to the skilled migration program are:
 

The National Golden Gurus program is set for a $500,000 funding boost to kickstart its important work connecting mature aged volunteers with mentoring opportunities as part of the Australian Government’s Productive Ageing Package.

Organisations that deliver the program will be able to apply for grants of up to $10,000 to help them prepare mature age mentors for their voluntary mentoring roles.

“Transferring the valuable skills and experience of mature age workers to younger workers is a key objective of the Productive Ageing Package.

* Release with Mark Arbib

The Rudd Government today launched a new $43.3 million Productive Ageing Package to provide vital training and support for older Australians who want to stay in the workforce.  

Treasurer Wayne Swan and Minister for Employment Participation Mark Arbib today announced the new measures which harness the tremendous skills and experience of older Australians

The Intergenerational Report launched today, Australia to 2050: Future Challenges, shows that improving our productivity is the key to higher living standards in the face of an ageing population.

It underscores the importance of the Government’s nation-building agenda – investing in education, skills and infrastructure to underpin higher productivity in the future.

Today’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) result shows that inflation remains low, reflecting an economy that is still operating below capacity.

Inflation was 2.1 per cent through the year to the December quarter 2009, at the lower end of the Reserve Bank’s 2 to 3 per cent target band, up from 1.3 per cent in the September quarter.  This increase was largely a result of the sharp falls in global fuel prices evident in the December quarter 2008, dropping out of today’s annual CPI.

Trade Minister Simon Crean leaves today for a trip to the United Kingdom, Switzerland and South Africa to advocate for Australian trade and strategic interests at a time when there are growing signs the world economy is emerging from recession.

Mr Crean will be the Australian Government representative at Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. At the forum he will speak on the importance of concluding the Doha Round, the Government's initiative of an Asia-Pacific Community and strengthening the global economic system.

Relase by Kevin Rudd & Damian Hale

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, with Member for Solomon, Damian Hale, today urged Northern Territory businesses to take advantage of the great new incentives to hire apprentices.

In just over six weeks since the start of the Australian Government's $100 million Apprentice Kickstart initiative, 27 young people are now working in traditional trades in the Northern Territory.