SENATOR DEBORAH ONEILL

SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES

ANNE CHARLTON

CANDIDATE FOR ROBERTSON

APPRENTICESHIPS DROP BY 35 PER CENT UNDER LIBS

New data from the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) show the number of Australian
apprentices have dropped by 35 per cent since the election of the Abbott-Turnbull Government.

In September 2013, the NCVER recorded 413,145 apprentices nationally, the latest figures show the number of
apprentices as of June this year had fallen to 268,000 - representing a drop of 35 per cent.

Employer peak body, the Australian Chamber of Business and Industry labelled the drop in apprenticeships a crisis
and blamed the Turnbull Government for inaction.

Under Labors plan, TAFE will be refurbished, training will be upgrades and apprentices will be prioritised. Specifically;

Labor will restore the $637 million cut by the Turnbull government from VET funding in the 2017 Budget.

Labor will make TAFE the centerpiece of our training system by guaranteeing at least two-thirds of all
government VET funding goes to TAFE and by investing $100 million in revitalising campuses across the
country.

Labor will ensure that one in ten jobs on all Commonwealth priority projects are apprentices, and Labor
will expand pre-apprentice programs for young jobseekers and invest in Advanced Adult Apprenticeships for
workers in transition.

The new data adds to a bad cocktail of economic data after the ABS revealed that the Central Coast had suffered a
spike in unemployment before the end of the year. Youth unemployment now stands at the new high of 18.6 per cent
well above the state and national averages.

Quotes attributable to Anne Charlton:

Since Abbott and Turnbull were elected the Central Coast has lost 940 apprentices thats a drop of 37 per cent.
Thats completely unacceptable.

The Turnbull Governments cuts to TAFE and training have created an unemployment crisis on the Coast.

Labors plan will restore the $637 million cut by the Turnbull Government, we will revitalise our TAFE campuses and
well require a tenth of job on every commonwealth building project to be an Australian apprentice.

Quotes attributable to Deborah ONeill:

The cuts by Malcolm Turnbull and Lucy Wicks have created an unemployment crisis on the Central Coast plain and
simple.

Last week, Turnbull visited the Coast and boasted about how many jobs he had created for the Central Coast how
out of touch can you get?

Under Malcolm Turnbull and Lucy Wicks we have seen fewer jobs, no growth and thousands of Coasties will spend
their Christmas without a job.

13 DECEMBER 2017 Ends.