At'
PRIME MINISTER
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER THE HON P J KEATING, MP
LAUNCH OF THE " AUSTRALIAN STUDENT TRAINEESHIP
FOUNDATION", GOSFORD,
17 AUGUST 1994
Well let me say it's great to be out of Canberra and here in Gosford on the
New South Wales Central Coast.
I hope you don't mind if I begin by referring to another launch that took place
yesterday. Yesterday, I launched the international television production " The Global
Economy" a distance learning production, put together by the ABC,
Monash University and the Open Learning Agency.
One of the great things about that production, and Open Learning in general,
is that it allows anyone who wishes to enrol in a distance learning course to
do so regardless of background, prior experience, or educational
qualifications. What Open Learning does is to bring higher education to those who want it
it's flexible and it's customer-focused.
It's a similar story with the Australian National Traineeship Foundation which
we announced in the Whit6& Paper on Employment and Growth, Working
Nation. But whereas the Open Learning initiative is focused on those Australians in
higher education, this initiative is focused on younger Australians in years 11
and 12.
The whole aim of the Foundation is to get schools and industry together to
combine work experience with high quality vocational training.
It's about equipping our senior schools students with the skills they'll need if
they are to have satisfying and rewarding jobs in an increasingly competitive
global economy.
We want to see senior school students with recognised vocational skills as
part of their standard school program.
This is a fundamental shift in Australia's approach to vocational education
and training. It's a shift that will benefit the careers and life chances of
thousands of young Australians.
But to make the shift we need leadership in our local communities, and
particularly from industry.
To help chart the way, a number of outstanding Australians, each with a
strong background in the vocational training field, have agreed to serve as
members on the Foundation's Board. And it's a great pleasure to welcome
the Board members who are with us today.
I won't refer to each Board member individually, but let me just mention how
pleased I am that John Goodman will chair the Board.
John has had extensive industry experience as Chairman and Chief
Executive of Baulderstone Hornibrook. He has also had extensive
involvement in promoting education and training for young people through his
Chairmanship of the Dusseldorp Foundation which has pioneered student
traineeships. One of the most important things about this Board is that the majority of its
members are from industry.
This is critical because under the Foundation, it will be industry, and not
government, that has control over the funding for entry level training.
It will be industry, and not government, that has responsibility for selecting
the training to be undertaken.
And it will be industry, not government, that provides the work experience that
will make the training meaningful.
Under the Foundation, local management committees, chaired by industry
and with majority industry membership, will be able to choose the most
appropriate forms of training from a range of public and private sources.
Students will acquire the skills that industry needs because industry will teach
them. So why are we doing this?
In the White Paper, we were at pains to stress that Australia's future depends
on the ideas, skills, and knowledge of our workforce.
As we said then, if Australia is to be a nation with a high value-added exportoriented
economy generating rewarding jobs for all Australians who want
them, we must find new and more effective ways of equipping the workforce
of tomorrow with the skills they will need.
The fact remains that despite great gains in the last decade that have seen
school retention rates almost double, around 14 per cent of young people still
drop out of school.
The risk is that these people might be left behind as we head towards a new
century. I don't want that to happen. I want us to approach the new century with
confidence, but above all else, with one another, together, as an inclusive
society, as an Australian community.
That's the philosophy that underpinned Working Nation. And that's what we
are giving expression to today through the launch of this Foundation.
Student traineeships must be quality courses that enable young people to
find satisfying and rewarding jobs.
But while the traineeships are important, it's what they lead to that really
counts. So, why come here to Gosford? Why not announce this new initiative in
Sydney, Melbourne, or Canberra?
Well, I suppose we could have travelled to a number of places in Australia
there are many innovative and successful student traineeships already
underway right around the country.
We could have travelled to Alcoa's plant in Geelong, where student trainees
complete their Victorian Certificate of Education at the same time they
complete 16 engineering modules.
But the reason we've decided to come here to Gosford is because the Central
Coast TRAC Program is one of the most successful in Australia and thaimakes
it the best place to launch the Australian Student Traineeship
Foundation. Run from this shopping centre, the Central Coast TRAC is independently
managed and operated by a joint industry, school and TAFE committee.
Not only does industry help develop the TRAC curriculum, it also contributes
towards the running costs for the program both financially and through
assistance in kind many of the businesses represented here today have
trainees working with them.
But it's a real joint effort: the local newspaper, the Central Coast Express,
plays its part by providing a weekly student profile free of charge and the
local councils and Rotary clubs also chip in with their support for the program.
And the reason why the Central Coast TRAC program succeeds, why all of
the TRAC students who left school last year are in full-time jobs, is because
of the combined efforts of the schools, the students, TAFE, industry and the
wider community.
It's a story of students with initiative and enthusiasm responding to
opportunities created by leaders in the local community.
It's the story of S teven Macarthur who participated in the TRAC program in
1993 and earlier this year beat more than 1,500 other applicants in gaining a
hospitality traineeship at the Sydney Hilton.
And it's also a story with an international profile thanks to Lesley Tobin,
Nichole Ford and Natalie Cruikshank. Last month, these three women the
TRAC coordinator, a TRAC student, and a TRAC workplace supervisor
attended the Second International Conference on Education Business in
Paris. There, they presented the Central Coast TRAC as a best practice
model for school industry partnerships.
That's a great achievement, particularly for someone like Nichole who only a
short time ago was on the verge of quitting school. It's the sort of
achievement that deserves to be celebrated.
What we want to do now with this new Foundation is to have stories like this
one echo right around Australia.
Through the student traineeships we want to encourage more young people
to stay on at school and acquire the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow.
Let me finish up on the important theme of leadership. By launching the
Foundation what we are hoping to tap into is the vast leadership reserves
that lie within our local communities, in our local schools but primarily in our
local business communities.
As the recent Mcinsey report on regional development pointed out,
leadership within a regional community is often the key reason why one
region prospers while another fails.
It's that sort of leadership that has been exercised here on the New South
Wales Central Coast.
I congratulate all those associated with the Central Coast TRAC program and
I take great pleasure in formally launching the Australian Student Traineeship
Foundation what I think is a truly major step in vocational training in this
country.'
Thank you.