"The Productivity Commission's interim report from its inquiry into Building a skilled and adaptable workforce rightly identifies that while significant reforms are underway to boost the quality and quantity of skills, more needs to be done," said Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association, Australian Industry Group.
"In particular, the focus on workplace training is welcome, particularly the proposal to trial financial incentives for training for SMEs and improve the use of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) which align very closely with our report last week.
"We called for a new co-funded initiative to drive workplace training in businesses, and more resources to support training providers to deliver more RPL.
"The discussion in the interim report about the effectiveness of training levies on employers is informative. It notes that evaluations of the former Australian Training Guarantee placed an administrative and cost burden on small businesses, decreased training hours in large businesses and failed to build a strong training culture. It also found that international evaluations have found similar results.
"There is considerable unevenness in the tax treatment of training costs. Sometimes training is tax deductible and sometimes not, and sometimes it attracts Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) and sometimes not. This is overly complex, and we should simplify these rules to make it easier for businesses and employees alike.
"As these issues are further explored, there is a need to ensure a focus on the importance of a strong connection between education and the workplace, along with deep engagement with industry.
"We also welcome the focus on occupational entry requirements (OER), but these are complex issues that require further consideration. Excessive and inconsistent requirements need to be removed where possible, however it's important that the employers of these people, and the consumer, have confidence that those who claim to be fully qualified can actually work to a suitable standard. The industries that employ workers in these occupations need to be closely involved in setting expectations. National consistency should be a key driver in this process.
"We look forward to continuing to work with the Productivity Commission as it finalises this important work," Mr Willox said.
