The Australian Jobs and Skills Summit provides a unique opportunity for the representatives of employers and employees to come together and collaborate in the national interest.

In this statement of common interests, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Australian Industry Group, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Business Council of Australia outline key principles to reform the skills and training systems to the mutual benefit of learners, employers and employees, as well as the Australian economy and society more generally. 

We also outline a series of priorities for federal and state governments to focus on at and following the Jobs and Skills Summit. These priorities reflect the need to tackle the acute skills and workforce shortages Australia faces today, as well as building up and modernising our skills and training system to ensure it can respond to future opportunities and challenges.

The scope of this statement is explicitly limited to the skills and training stream of the Commonwealth Government’s upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit and not the Industrial Relations, Climate or other streams. It also reflects only areas of common ground. It should be noted that each of the parties will hold views about the education and training system that are not reflected here and these will be subject of further consultation, including at the Summit.