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Governments must act on tradespeople shortage: IngramThe Independent Member for Gippsland East, Craig Ingram, said today that the State and Federal Governments must act to address a shortage of qualified tradespeople. By Craig Ingram - 21st December 2004 - Back to News Mr Ingram’s comments follow recent criticism by unions of two Victorian-based companies who are sourcing tradespeople from overseas to fill local jobs.
"Some years ago, I met with the State Government on this same issue and the government refused to acknowledge the problem," Mr Ingram said.
"Governments at state and federal level seem so fixed on the private delivery of services that companies can no longer afford to employ apprentices to fill the gaps.
"The recent comments are a wake up call.
"The shortage extends across a range of areas from building to road maintenance and there are many other industries about to go down this same path.
"Unless governments get it right, there will come a time that qualified tradespeople will be virtually impossible to find. "The states and commonwealth must work together to find incentives for young people to enter into a trade and must make it easier for companies to employ apprentices," Mr Ingram concluded.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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