“I’m a strong believer in upskilling and continuous learning no matter your age, so I wish the five new apprentices all the best in their next chapter.
But what I don’t believe in is smoke and mirrors.
Queensland is in the middle of a skilled worker shortage of the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s making.
The Minister and Member for Bundaberg failed to share the real numbers.
The Palaszczuk Labor Government have never met their own apprenticeship completion target.
This means there are at least 16,100 less qualified tradies in the middle of skilled worker crisis.
Using the most recent data, in every single quarter since January 2021 more Queensland trainees cancelled or withdrew from training, than completed their training.
While I do acknowledge that the recent budget contained funding to address low female apprenticeship retention and completion rates; this funding comes nearly 18 months after an alarming State Government report that recommended “urgent” action on the issue.
It detailed completion rates for Queensland female apprentices in “male dominated industries” being at least 21% worse than that of their male counterparts.
While I will always welcome new apprenticeships and training, we can’t forget that there’s an awful long way to go.
The Labor Government’s 100 new spin doctors are working overtime.
We can’t trust the Palaszczuk Labor Government to fix the chaos and crisis impacting Queenslander’s lives every day.”
05-07-2023