AUSTRALIAN Industry Group Chief Executive, Heather Ridout, has welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement that Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) will be now responsible for automotive training.
Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) is the manufacturing industry skills council which is responsible for addressing the skills needs of over 75,000 businesses employing almost 1m Australians across the breadth of manufacturing.
Following Gillard’s decision, MSA will now extend its industry coverage to include the automotive industry.
Ridout said in reaction to Gillard’s comments made on Monday that the move makes “conceptual and practical sense”.
“While it is a sensible decision there are issues and everyone will have to work hard to ensure the particular interests of the automotive industry are properly accommodated.
“I am confident that this can be achieved by MSA,” Ridout said.
The Ai Group Chief Executive said the synergies between the manufacturing industries will, in the long term, provide the greatest opportunity for the success of Australian enterprises.
“It will also provide an opportunity for the automotive industry, including both the manufacturing and the retail, service and repair sectors, to share in the benefits of the work already undertaken by MSA in sustainability and green skills.
“Building a broad and transferable skill base across the manufacturing and automotive sectors will enable enterprises to emerge stronger from the current economic downturn,” she added.