JobMaker: The federal government plan to get the economy ‘out of ICU’

Industry will have greater power to shape Australia’s vocational education system under a plan to “set up Australia for economic success over the next three to five years” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison today unveiled the new JobMaker scheme to get the economy “out of ICU” by targeting two areas: vocational skills and training, and industrial relations.

“The overwhelming priority of this reset will be to win the battle for jobs,” Mr Morrison said while announcing the details of the scheme.

“We must always ensure that there is an opportunity for those who have a go to get a go.”

Minister for Employment and Skills, Michaelia Cash, told 3AW’s Tom Elliott both sides of politics will work together to ensure the economy remains afloat.

“We need to act together, we also need to act quickly,” she said.

“That is what is now demanded.”

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Prime Minister Scott Morrison slammed the industrial relations system as “not fit for purpose” and flagged the area as a key focus for the JobMaker scheme.

“It is a system that has to date retreated to tribalism, conflict and ideological posturing … this will need to change or more Australians will unnecessarily lose their jobs,” he said.

Mr Morrison also announced the federal government has dumped its union busting Ensuring Integrity Bill.

As part of the new JobMaker scheme, Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter will lead a new reform agenda process bringing together employers, industry groups, employer representatives and government, to set the job-making agenda for the industrial relations sector.

Working groups will be established to consider simplification in five areas: award simplification, enterprise agreement-making, compliance and enforcement, casuals and fixed-term employees, and unions.

Mr Morrison said “membership of each group will include employer and union representatives as well as individuals chosen based on their experience and expertise”.

The reform process will run until September.

SKILLS

Industry will also be given greater powers to help shape vocational training and education under the JobMaker scheme.

“We need Australians better trained for the jobs businesses are looking to create. It’s that simple,” Mr Morrison said.

The scheme hopes to overhaul a system which is “clunky and unresponsive to skills demands”, and make it clearer which skills are in demand, as well as correcting funding inconsistencies across states and qualification providers.

Three pilot programs have already been established in: human services, digital technologies, and mining.

Mr Morrison said the sectors involved in the pilots are showing promising signs of benefiting from the trial overhaul.

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