Clare Sharp
First Assistant Secretary, Apprenticeships and Foundation Skills,
Australian Government Department of Employment and Workforce Relations (DEWR)
As the First Assistant Secretary for Apprenticeships and Foundation Skills in the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workforce Relations (DEWR), Clare oversees the design and delivery of Australian Government foundation skills policies and programs. This includes the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) program, the Foundation Skills for Your Future Program and remote communities pilot. Clare also oversees the Australian Government’s policy response to the recent House of Representatives Inquiry into Adult Literacy and work on the Foundation Skills Framework. Clare commenced in this role in October 2021, after several years working in vocational education funding policy roles.
Clare has more than 15 years’ experience working in, and with, the Australian Government, including several years working on Indigenous economic policy and program delivery and several years as a commercial lawyer. Highlights of Clare’s career have included working closely with Indigenous-led businesses on the design and implementation of the Indigenous Procurement Policy and the Indigenous Business Sector Strategy, as well as more recent work to support reforms to Australia’s apprenticeship incentives system.