Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, said almost a thousand new apprenticeships have been created in New England – and there are many more to come - thanks to an expanded Federal Government programme.
"So far, 890 apprentices and trainees have registered for support in New England as part of the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy programme – which is part of the National Economic Recovery Plan," Mr Joyce said.
The program was announced in last year's Budget and was fully subscribed helping to create 100,000 apprenticeships across Australia in just five months. Now, the programme is being expanded for a full 12 months and it is estimated this will generate an additional 70,000 new apprentice and trainee places.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Michaelia Cash, said training and skills were at the core of the Government's response to the economic challenges faced by the COVID-19 recession.
"The $1.2 billion programme is creating jobs, generating economic opportunities and boosting the skills of workers right across Australia and is at the heart of our National Economic Recovery Plan, as we build back from the COVID-19 recession. Growing our skills pipeline is an incredibly important part of helping our economic recovery," Minister Cash said.
The Boosting Apprentices Commencement program has to date assisted almost 40,000 businesses to take on a new Australian apprentice or trainee – hundreds of them in New England.
We have also funded the National Skills Commission which harnesses contemporary data with labour market analysis to find the skills needs of the economy that in turn informs the qualifications and skills Australians need to train for.
Mr Joyce said an apprenticeship is a great way to start your working life or to continue your working life in a new industry.
"I can't stress enough how important this programme is and would encourage businesses also to sign up as soon as possible – a win win for employees and employers," Mr Joyce said.
