A larger, more collaborative higher education and training sector in Canberra will make the economy more resilient and help drive up the number of workers in the ACT, the Chief Minister believes.
Andrew Barr will on Thursday say he is optimistic the higher education sector will grow in coming years, pointing to forthcoming investments on ACT university campuses and a likely future upgrade to the Bruce Canberra Institute of Technology site.
Mr Barr will use his annual state of the territory address to the Canberra Business Chamber to say the challenge of addressing labour and skills shortages presents an opportunity to develop a stronger and more diverse city, and boost collaboration between higher education institutions.
"Fortunately, we are in a better position than most to overcome these challenges," Mr Barr will say.
"Our current population projections have the ACT reaching half a million residents by 2027. Population growth means a stronger, more resilient, more diverse economy, and more opportunities. It fuels the need for expanding public and private sector services."
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee has used the opportunity of Mr Barr's annual address to criticise the Chief Minister over statements made in last year's speech.
Mr Barr said in last year's speech his government was focused on tackling four challenges: housing, skills, healthcare and climate action.
Ms Lee criticised the government over issues in housing and health.
"I wouldn't hold my breath to see what Andrew Barr says in the state of the territory," she said.
"If last year's state of the territory is anything to go by where he said that his priorities were in healthcare and housing. Where are we at with healthcare and housing?
"There's no doubt that there's been some spectacular failures in those two areas."
The Opposition Leader pointed to Canberra's emergency department and elective surgery waiting times, workplace culture at Canberra Hospital, the 3000-long public housing waitlist and the government's recently released planning policy as failures.
Ms Lee also took aim at the territory government over losing its AAA credit rating.
The speech is being held exactly one year out from the ACT's election but neither Mr Barr or Ms Lee have used the opportunity to announce any major commitment.
Mr Barr will say that a growing economy will demand more skilled workers, especially given the ACT has achieved full employment as the ACT economy has more job vacancies than people looking for work.
"For the ACT, our skills and education sector is not just an enabler for our broader labour market - it's going to be the sector that drives the Territory's economic development and export earnings over the next five years," he will say.
"International education is Canberra's most valuable export. Pre-COVID, this was our only billion-dollar export industry, and we are working to get back to that level - and beyond."
The ACT government increased its jobs target to 300,000 workers by 2030, having achieved before time a target of 250,000 positions by 2025. The first target was set in August 2020.
About 265,000 people are currently employed in the ACT, figures released in June by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
Mr Barr will use his speech to welcome the national skills agreement. The agreement, ratified by national cabinet on Monday and announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, could mean the Commonwealth spends billions to expand fee-free TAFE places.
"It builds on the good work already underway. For example, fee-free TAFE makes it cheaper to study, helps more Australians to get good, secure jobs, and makes the decision to retrain so much easier. Our support for the fee-free TAFE program has already seen more than 2500 Canberrans gain new skills and retrain for free," he will say.
Mr Barr will express his government's commitment to the Australian universities accord process, which was announced by the incoming federal Labor government in November last year and handed down an interim report in July.
Mr Barr will say there are four areas the territory is advocating in the accord process.
The territory wants to secure more research investment, improve co-operation between the vocational and higher education sectors, acknowledgement of the importance of international students to the economy and boosting cultural diversity, and to improve equity of access to higher education.
"As the most highly qualified city in Australia, we know the value education provides, when everyone is given a fair chance to reach their potential," Mr Barr will say.
Mr Barr will say Canberra punches above its weight in the higher education sector, making up 3 per cent of the international tourism market despite being home to just 1.8 per cent of Canberra's population.
"Our appeal lies not just in the quality of education and teaching but in the opportunity for innovation, access to world leading research and our city's liveability, all of which makes Canberra a global hub for learning," he will say.
Mr Barr will point to the ACT's approval of a $1 billion UNSW campus in the city centre, which will bring more than $3 billion in economic benefit to the territory, and the government's sale of a car park to the Australian National University for a new health research precinct.
"The Australian National University, through support from the ACT government, are constructing a world-leading national health precinct in the City Centre - contributing to a major redevelopment of the city centre driven by the tertiary education sector," he will say.
Mr Barr will also say the forthcoming Woden campus of the Canberra Institute of Technology, expected to open in mid-2025, shows the ACT government's commitment to vocational education.
"With work well underway in Woden, the government will next look at the renewal of the CIT's Belconnen facilities," he will say.
"With development of a new North Canberra Hospital, the [memorandum of understanding] with the Sports Commission on AIS precinct renewal including the arena and stadium, and ongoing upgrades and expansion on the UC campus, there will be no shortage of opportunities to improve collaboration and cooperation within this new and emerging hub of education, sports and health sciences in Bruce."
Mr Barr's comments on the future of the Australian Institute of Sport will be a further sign of the Chief Minister's confidence the facility will not move, despite the Commonwealth ordering a review into its future.
