The Commonwealth Minister for Skills and Training, the Hon Brendan O'Connor MP (pictured) – who will provide a video message to CCA’s September Conference – has outlined his national skills priorities in the lead-up to National Jobs and Skills Summit.
Training investment: “We should be investing in the skills of our own workforce to ensure we've got a growing economy and people can participate in work…. Work is not just a job it's your identity. It's a sense of purpose. It's really about your dignity. It's very important in many ways, not just economically but socially too.”
Older workers: “We don't want to see this inbuilt bias against 50 year old workers who are hardly old, but are having trouble because of discrimination…. Even though you've heard anecdotally employers saying they're willing to employ older people… they should be role model employers because we need more employers saying older workers in our workplaces are good for the workplace.”
Invest where demand requires: “We spend a lot of money in training, we need to invest in the areas where there is demand now and demand in the future.”
Lifelong learning: “Because the economy and because technology trends are moving so rapidly, people will have to continue to learn throughout the course of their working life.”
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CCA comment by Dr Don Perlgut, CEO: "Community Colleges Australia is thrilled to hear of the Minister's skills priorities, which align very strongly with the strengths and capabilities of Australia's adult and community education - ACE - sector. Our members are well-positioned to assist the Minister to achieve his training and skills objectives. We are also pleased that CCA will have the opportunity to brief the Minister directly in the lead-up to the National Jobs and Skills Summit."
