Queensland Training Awards State Final Presentation Dinner

Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training, the Honourable Ros Bates MP; Director-General, Department of Employment, Small Business and Training, Mr Peter McKay; Queensland Training Ombudsman, Mr Geoff Favell; awardees, your family and friends; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I too begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbul and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

At this point, I would also like to acknowledge the family members of the late Harry Hauenschild and the late Bob Marshman – namesakes of the Apprentice and Trainee Awards of the Year respectively – thank you for being here and giving us the opportunity to continue to honour the significant contributions both Harry and Bob made to the vocational education of young Queenslanders over many years.

This is the third time I have had the pleasure of attending this ‘Night of Nights’ for Queensland’s vocational and training sector and at the outset, I warmly congratulate the regional finalists on their success to date.

With most of the regional finals conducted in July, I know it has meant an anxious wait for all of you, and many of you have had to travel from regional and remote areas of our State to be here for tonight’s presentation ceremony.

Whatever the outcome, you can take pride in your selection as finalists, and in the contribution you have made to the sector.

Some of tonight’s finalists are here as students, apprentices or trainees; others as teachers or training providers; and still others as representatives of the third part of this enormous interconnected system – the employers.

None of those three parts can survive or thrive alone; they are inter-dependent, and inter-dependence can only work when there is collaboration, cooperation, a sharp focus on shared goals, and willingness to negotiate and compromise.

The education and training sector is currently being challenged by the tight labour market. Low unemployment produces high staff turnovers, teacher shortages, low completion rates, heavier workloads, budget cuts, and a threat to standards, all of which are putting greatly increased pressure on the sector.

However, we are talking about an immensely powerful, robust sector that has now served Australia for almost two hundred years.

We should also remember that the reason it has survived is its readiness to adapt and change in order to provide the practical vocational skills and training our nation needs – and for evidence of that, we need go no further than the options offered by the sector in the 21^st century.

Nobody was acquiring micro-credentials or learning floristry at Australia’s first Mechanics Institute in Hobart in 1827, and there was certainly nobody learning pet grooming! There was not a girl in sight, and the life of an apprentice or trainee was anything but diverse and adventurous. But the system adapted and will continue to do so, encouraging excellence as it has done through this wonderful award program for 43 years.

I once again congratulate the finalists and look forward to toasting the success of the 14 award winners when they are announced later this evening.

I also commend the Department of Finance, Trade, Employment and Training on its continued belief in this program and thank the sponsors, employers, and education and training institutions for their ongoing support.

The VET sector may once have been considered the ‘Cinderella’ of education. Happily, that is no longer the case – this Cinderella can now hold her perfectly coiffed head high at any Royal ball, wearing a gown designed and made in Queensland, and an exquisite pair of hand-crafted glass slippers!