The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to supporting economic growth and prosperity by delivering real skills for real jobs.
As Tasmania’s excellent seafood is set to star on dinner plates around the country this Easter, the Government is supporting this key industry to grow through a three-year Seafood Training Pledge.
This growing sector is crying out for more skilled workers and less red tape and that’s exactly what this pledge delivers.
We will invest $402,000 this year alone to fund specific training to the sector through Seafood Training Tasmania (STT), which will deliver 150 places in Certificate I in Maritime Operations and 25 places in Certificate II Maritime Operations, qualifications which are absolutely vital to working in aquaculture, fishing and marine tourism.
Combined with existing funding for other qualifications critical to a competitive seafood industry workforce, this pledge means that the industry will receive over $1 million in new training places in 2015 to support a skilled workforce and job creation.
Importantly, support for places in 2016 and 2017 is guaranteed but will be subject to industry validation of required training, jobs growth and continued high performance outcomes. This means there’s no need to have to reapply for funding again and gives certainty to industry while reducing the red-tape burden.
Seafood Training Tasmania has almost 30 years’ experience providing training to the industry and is the preferred training provider for salmon growers, wild catch, shellfish, rock lobster and coastal tourism venture markets.
Importantly, STT is backed by the industry with significant support in the form of costs of training, materials, vessels, supervisory time and facilities.
This funding demonstrates the Government’s commitment to supporting these vital industries while protecting our marine environment.
We have a long-term Plan to grow the economy and create jobs and a key aspect of our plan is engaging with and investing in our Tasmanian workforce.
The Government is committed to helping businesses grow by cutting red tape and reducing regulatory burdens and at the same time ensuring Tasmanians have the best possible training and employment opportunities.
We are committed to supporting industries to grow and making sure they have the skilled workforce to do it.