A new National Skills Agreement proposed by the Federal Government threatens to increase student fees and lead to “acute staff shortages” in health care, child care, aged care and disability care according to the Minister for Employment and Small Business, Di Farmer.
Ms Farmer said that with the Federal election imminent, a very serious issue was looming for Queenslanders in the form of the skills funding.
“The funding model for training courses and student fees under the proposed new National Skills Agreement would have very serious consequences for attracting the urgently needed and appropriately skilled staff in the various sectors providing care services,” Ms Farmer said.
“The States and Territories are united in their condemnation of the draft agreement.”
She said that for more than 18 months the Federal Skills Minister had failed to enter constructive negotiations with States and territories, and persisted with draft agreements that ignored the major concerns the States and Territories raised.
“Not least of these is the enormous fee increases that would flow under the proposals the Federal Government has put forward,” Ms Farmer said.
“Australian business, and governments providing public services, are struggling to find the skilled workers they need,” she said
“It is essential that States and Territories are able to keep training courses affordable and accessible, thus enabling people, and especially young people, to get the skills they need”.
She said it had been shown that higher fees lead to a drop in training enrolments.
“Fees for a student seeking to gain a Certificate 3 in Early Childhood would jump from $316 to between $1,000 and $3,000 under the proposed funding model,” Ms Farmer said.
“A Certificate 3 in Individual Support, for students looking to work in aged care and disability care, would leap from $172 to between $500 and $1500”.
She said there were other issues involved it is considered how vital beds in Queensland’s hospitals were being occupied by people who ought to be in aged care, but who cannot transition to aged care because of staff shortages in that sector.
The Minister called for the stalled negotiations around a new National Skills Agreement to be moved with a finalising agreement that the States and Territories could agree to.
