Senator KNOWLES —My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Senator Ellison. The Howard government has had a strong and ongoing commitment to young Australians, which has been clearly demonstrated by the number of youth and training initiatives introduced by this government. Could the minister please inform the Senate of some of these initiatives, particularly the one that has had the most outstanding success—that is, the New Apprenticeship Scheme?

Senator ELLISON (Special Minister of State) —At the outset, I thank Senator Knowles for that important question and acknowledge her commitment in relation to matters which affect the youth of this country. The Howard government is totally committed to seeing that the young people of Australia are well trained and properly skilled for the work force which they are about to enter.

It is no surprise that, since 1996 when the Howard government came to power, there has been an increase of some 60,000 new apprenticeships, an increase of 60,000 people in training, which is a credit to the Howard government's reinvigoration of the training and apprenticeship system. That initiative was launched on 1 January last year, and it signified the introduction of flexibility for both the employer and the new apprentices. It allowed choice in training providers, and it also streamlined regulation which governed that training system. It expanded training opportunities in areas of rapid job growth, including new areas such as agriculture, sport, tourism and multimedia—all areas where we know there are great opportunities opening up for young people.

Senator Carr —Why has the failure rate gone up by 40 per cent?

Senator ELLISON —The government has also provided 200 new apprenticeship centres which, as Senator Carr might be interested to know, are not only simplifying access to apprenticeships for young people but also providing support for employers. That is something which is of great assistance to employers in opening up opportunities for young people. But, in addition to that, we have provided some $43 million for the new Apprenticeship Access Program.

Senator Carr —What are you doing about the rorts?

The PRESIDENT —Senator Carr, you are persistently interjecting.

Senator ELLISON —That is pretraining, if you like, which is allowed to be accessed by those people who need that preliminary training before being able to successfully participate in new apprenticeships. It is noteworthy that, for the first time, the number of people in apprenticeships and traineeships has now cracked the 200,000 mark. For the first time ever we have a record number of people in training: some 206,000 people in training. That is a significant achievement and one which points to the success of this government's initiatives in training and apprenticeships. I might add that the figures released last week by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research show increasingly strong growth in apprenticeship and traineeship numbers since that new apprenticeship initiative I have mentioned which occurred on 1 January last year.

The figure of 206,000 is an increase of some 57 per cent on the figure of 131,000 which occurred in 1994 when Labor was last in power. That figure of 206,000 is an outstanding increase on what the Labor government could do. It is an indication that this government is committed to ensuring that the young people of Australia are job ready, that they do have the training necessary to meet their obligations in the work force. The success, of course, is in the numbers that I have mentioned.

But we have to look to the future. The federal government has announced that it will provide $485 million in financial incentives to employers and new apprentices for 200,000 commencements over the period May 1998 to November 1999. We will not just rest on that record figure, but we will do more because we realise that more has to be done. We are committed to providing 200,000 new places between May this year and November next year. This is an outstanding result; it is just one of the success stories of the Howard government in providing young Australians with further opportunities in training and securing a future for themselves. (Time expired)