“The Member for Gilmore Ann Sudmalis needs to clarify her statement; “Apprenticeship drive launched in Gilmore”, suggesting that the federal government has a new initiative funding pre-apprenticeships in Gilmore,” Mrs Phillips said. 

“It’s been nine months since federal funding for skills, apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships dried up due to the government’s failure to make national partnership agreements with state and territory governments.”

Mrs Sudmalis launched the program, which aims to connect apprentices and job seekers with employees, on April 16. She said the program would run until June and would ensure greater engagement with industry and employers. 

However, Mrs Phillips said the number of apprentices and trainees had fallen by “more than 140,000, with a 34 per cent decline in Gilmore alone”, since the Coalition took office.

“At the same time youth unemployment within Gilmore has skyrocketed to the highest in NSW,” she continued. “The Turnbull Government’s response has been to cut more than $3 billion from TAFE, apprenticeships and skills. Locally, TAFE pre-apprenticeships have been axed.”

Labor was guaranteeing the public funding of TAFE, Mrs Phillips said. 

“Labor has costed plans to rebuild apprenticeships by ensuring that one in ten workers on major government-funded projects are apprentices, investing $100 million in a new Building TAFE for the Future Fund, and assisting 30,000 young and adult apprentices in their transitions to trade qualifications,” she said. 

“The TAFE system will, under a Shorten Labor government, be the subject of a once in a generation independent commission of review to ensure the best architecture for post-school education and training and restore the status of vocational education, TAFE and apprenticeships.”