The government’s commitment to a digital skills passport is a critical step towards a more modern skills system that ensures workers can take advantage of big economic changes, Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.

 “The Business Council has long called for a skills passport system because that makes it easier for Australians to build their own qualifications and get the jobs they want.

 “For the digital sector, this will help employers match with the right workers with the right skills. We hope this is the starting point for a skills passport system for all Australians.

 “It will be crucial to design this skills passport with maximum flexibility, ensuring it is portable across educational institutions, sectors of the economy and individual businesses. 

 “We need to empower Australians to upskill and reskill throughout their lifetimes, to meet our economy’s skills needs now and into the future.

“Skills Passports are also an important stepping stone toward a Lifetime Skills Account that can provide support for all Australians and their employers to invest in continuous learning throughout their careers.

 “We welcome the convergence of views from both sides of politics that this challenge is critical to our recovery and that a reinvigorated VET and micro credentialing system will be key.

“With the right building blocks in place, we can set our country up to be a skills and education powerhouse in the 21st Century.”