Summit speech by Jodie Belyea MP
GSEM is delighted to be able to share the full speech made by Jodie Belyea, Member for Dunkley, at the GSEM Jobs and Skills Summit on Friday 3 May at Bunjil Place, Narre Warren.
Womenjika, Welcome,
Let me begin by acknowledging the Bunurong/Boonwurrung People, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet today.
I pay my respects to their Elders past and present.
And I extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us here today at Bunjil Place.
It’s a real pleasure to be here and speak to you today on behalf of my parliamentary colleague, the Federal Minister for Skills and Training, Brendan O’Connor.
Some of you might know me as the Mum from Frankston with two dogs and a mortgage. However, I was a student and for a short time teacher at Chisholm TAFE where I studied youth work, which has led to an incredibly rewarding career.
As the newest Federal MP in the House on the Hill, I come with experience working in large corporations, for local government – Mordialloc, Kingston, Glen Eira and Frankston Councils.
I have experience working for state and national not for profits, leading the development of employability skills programs for young people, men and women. These programs supported marginalised individuals within our communities to build self-determination, resilience and employability skills that led to securing jobs in industry.
Prior to becoming the MP for Dunkley I was the Managing Director of the Women’s Spirit Project and established the MEGT Foundation’s and its Scholarship Program.
Both initiatives supported women who have experienced trauma to build resilience and confidence to be able to re-skill through TAFE, enabling them to enter the workforce.
Particularly important for women in achieving social and economic independence and supporting industry to address skills shortages.
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Greater South East Melbourne is critical to the Victorian and Australian economies, plain and simple.
This is one of the fastest growing regions, in the nation’s fastest growing city.
1.5 million people live in this region,
1/3 of the population of Greater Melbourne.
2 million people are expected to call our region home in the next decade – as a result we must ensure they have the right skills for the future.
And
To meet the growing needs of our region, and Australia as a whole.
I want to cast your minds back to 2022.
When we came into government
Australia was facing its biggest skills shortage in 50 years.
A big challenge to address, but we’ve wasted no time getting on with it.
The government called its own Jobs and Skills Summit in September 2022.
This brought Australians together across sectors to urgently address issues – including skills shortages.
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We established Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA).
JSA’s independent advice to government is informing many policies and programs.
At the heart of its agenda is ensuring Australia’s training and education systems deliver skilled workers.
One example of its invaluable work is the Clean Energy Capacity study.
JSA analysed the workforce requirements for Australia to meet its clean energy commitments.
Not surprisingly, it says we need an abundance of skilled workers to meet our net zero 2050 targets.
We know it’s a big job, but now – thanks to that study – we have a much better idea of the scale of the transformation required.
We’ve worked with industry to create 10 Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs).
These industry-owned and led organisations are helping drive collaboration and change across the VET sector.
They are helping tackle skills challenges across all sectors.
With tripartite collaboration fostered between employers, unions, governments, training providers and other stakeholders.
The Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance is one of the 10 JSCs.
And it’s establishing strong manufacturing areas such as Greater South East Melbourne to meet workforce requirements.
Last October, we delivered the landmark National Skills Agreement (NSA).
The 5-year agreement is changing how governments work together, with a new National Stewardship model coordinating strategic investment in skills across the economy.
The Skills Agreement focuses the Commonwealth and all states and territories on the collaborative response to critical national skills gaps.
The NSA will unlock up to $30 billion of investment in Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector over the next five years.
Ensuring it provides high-quality, responsive, and accessible education and training.
Supporting Australians to develop the skills and capabilities required for well-paid and secure jobs.
Our government is committed to skilling and reskilling Australians for the future and a changing economy.
That’s why we introduced Fee-Free TAFE.
Last year, working with states and territories, we removed financial barriers so that more than 355,000 Australians could enrol for free in areas of demand.
More than 48,000 Victorians enrolled in Fee-Free TAFE in 2023 across priority sectors - care, community, construction, manufacturing, technology and digital, and early childhood education and care.
And we’re investing $414 million to deliver an additional 300,000 Fee-Free TAFE places over the next 3 years.
I spoke earlier about net zero.
Australia’s shift to renewables is not a hypothetical emerging industry.
It’s one of several sectors we must prioritise now.
And it’s vital to our government’s vision of a ‘Future Made in Australia’ – announced last month by the Prime Minister.
Australian manufacturing is at the heart of this vision.
As the PM said, there is global competition for new jobs and new opportunities.
Australia must be in it, to win it.
Yesterday the Albanese Government launched Industry Growth Grants which is part of the government’s a Future Made in Australia.
The Industry Growth Program is about filling in the “missing middle”, growing small startups into bigger startups so they can go to the National Reconstruction Fund with an investment-ready proposal.
These grants will target Small Medium Enterprises and range from $50,000 to $5 million.
More than 340 businesses ready to take the next step have already accessed the advice side of the IGP, showing a pipeline of new know-how that’s ready for commercialisation.
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What does that mean for everyone here today?
Victorians want access to high-quality education and training.
Victorians want secure jobs and fair wages.
We’ve done a lot of work already – our government has set the groundwork for success.
We’re committed to ensuring that workers and communities are not left behind.
We understand that business, industry, and institutions cannot address the jobs and skills shortages alone.
It needs to be a collective effort with leaders and innovators being brave, creative, and able to work together in partnership.
Over my career of 35 years I have led numerous collaborative initiatives aimed at addressing jobs and skills shortages at a national, state and local level.
The MEGT Foundation Scholarship Program is one example. It provides undergraduate scholarships including financial and coaching support to women recovering from trauma into TAFE.
The initiative enables women, in particular new immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, who have migrated to Australia, who are part of the 50% of overqualified immigrants in this region to re-skill and translate their skills into jobs in Australia.
This project is supported by the Victorian State Government and Victoria University.
I urge everyone here today to consider what you can do to support immigrants, in particular women, with the skills to reskill and upskill, to be able to work in your industries. Because there is a significant opportunity here that remains untapped.
The importance of the opportunity was highlighted in the 2023 Women’s Economic and Equality Taskforce report.
$128 billion is the value to the Australian economy that can be realised by purposefully removing the persistent barriers to women’s full and equal participation in economic activity.
That’s why we are committed to skilling up our national workforce and boosting the status of the VET sector, with TAFE at its heart, and apprenticeships a key pathway into rewarding careers.
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Today you have the time and space to come together, listen and learn. To think out of the box and begin the process of incubating solutions.
Solutions that are inclusive of cultural diversity and gender,
And reflective of the region and sub-regions, able to address the jobs and skills shortages, industry and people needs.
I invite you all to consider what you and your organisation can do with other businesses, government at all levels, and institutions as collaborators or partners.
So that everyone can seize the opportunities ahead.
Collaboration is key to meet our workforce needs – now and into the future.
Both here in Greater South East Melbourne and across the country.
Have a great summit.
Thank you.
[ENDS]