Tuesday, 1 August 2023

Head Start apprenticeships and traineeships program

Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (16:57): We shall miss Mr Urquhart and most especially his socks.

My members statement is about the pleasure I had recently with Leroy, who is a year 10 student at Mullauna College who joined the office for work experience. Leroy leapt at the opportunity to get hands-on experience of an MP’s working environment and even helped me write this speech. Leroy’s experience highlights the value of starting a career journey at an early stage, and Labor understands that young people should not have to leave school to do that. That is why we have been proud to launch the Head Start program. This new program gives year 10 to 12 students paid work experience in an industry they are passionate about, which goes towards completing their VCE or vocational major. Students just like Leroy get expert counselling and networking whilst trying the job for themselves, making Head Start a practical way to accelerate employment in key sectors. Under this government students can go even further, with free TAFE as well.