Jobs and Skills Summit – Your Quick Guide
Posted on 02 September 2022
Jobs and Skills Summit – Your Quick Guide
Against a backdrop of record low unemployment and high inflation, the Jobs + Skills Summit has an ambitious and wide-ranging agenda.
What is it?
A summit to address our ‘shared economic challenges.’
Who is attending?
Invitation only event for 143 participants comprising Government, Business, Unions, Community and Academia/Think Tanks.
Like a wedding, with a limited number of seats, family (unions) will take up a lot of places that you would have preferred to offer to others.
Maintaining full employment and growing productivity
Boosting job security and wages
Lifting participation and reducing barriers to employment
Delivering a high-quality labour force through skills, training and migration
Maximising opportunities in the industries of the future
What is being proposed?
Changes to the industrial relations system, to allow bargaining with multiple employers and sectors
Increasing the permanent migration cap from the current cap of 160,000
Increased investment in skills training through TAFE and university education
Childcare reform
Where to from here?
Some actions will be taken immediately after the summit while other initiatives and reforms will be implemented over the medium and long term
A white paper will be produced on employment, which the government says it ‘ will provide a comprehensive blueprint for Australia’s future labour market.’
Conclusions
There is consensus on the issues and challenges but great debate as to the solutions and priorities.
With government debt ballooning, post-Covid stimulus, there are significant financial constraints and competing meritorious proposals.
Opening the door to more skilled migrants is a low-cost/high return measure that is not difficult to implement