Free training opportunities for school leavers, young people and job seekers after the ACT Government committed $8.37 million to deliver major investment in vocational education and training to support the recovery from the pandemic.
This brings the total funding to $16.75 million invested 50:50 joint funding for the Job Trainer initiative between the ACT and Federal Governments specifically targeting young people and job seekers.
Minister for Tertiary Education Chris Steel said it was clear that the pandemic had been hard felt by younger Canberrans due to the impact on casual employment, as well as people across a wide range of industries who have lost their job.
"Young people have been hit hard by COVID-19, with many of those leaving school unsure about what the future holds.
"This free training will help young people to get the skills they need to get into a job.
"There are 11,000 Canberrans who are unemployed and this skills funding will support them to retrain and get back into the workforce as soon as possible.
"By signing up to JobTrainer, young people and job seekers will get access to free training in a mix of full qualifications and Skill Sets in areas of employment growth and skills need, opening up a whole new range of possibilities."
JobTrainer will go towards expanding the SPARK Ginninderry training and employment initiative and support additional free training at the Canberra Institute of Technology.
CIT will deliver approximately 1,300 training places through JobTrainer, in addition to free online short courses, to ensure Canberrans get access to a large range of training options.
The ACT Government has been working with an Industry JobTrainer Advisory Group to ensure the training and qualifications delivered through JobTrainer are in areas of growth that will ensure future employment here in Canberra.
"Through our industry consultation we identified areas of skills needs and occupations in high growth and emerging high value industries in the ACT," Minister Steel said.
JobTrainer will deliver approximately 3,500 extra training places in the ACT in key industries and occupations including:
- community services;
- healthcare;
- renewable energy and sustainability;
- digital and cyber security;
- construction; and
- hospitality.
"There is a wide range of training available and I encourage young people and job seekers to take up this opportunity get into training with this unprecedented VET support." said Minister Steel.
JobTrainer will complement other training available through existing ACT Government schemes, including User Choice and free infection control training. The ACT Government had already funded an additional 2000 training places In the Skilled Capital program as part of the economic survival package.
