The Morrison Government will invest $2 billion to give hundreds of thousands of Australians access to new skills, by retraining and upskilling them into sectors with job opportunities.
The new $1 billion JobTrainer Fund will provide up to an additional 340,700 training places across Australia (an estimated 108,000 in NSW) to help school leavers and job seekers access pre-apprenticeships, short courses and full qualifications to develop new skills in growth sectors and create a pathway to more qualifications.
Courses will be free or low cost in areas of identified need, with the Federal Government providing $500 million with matched contributions from State and Territory Governments*.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the JobTrainer skills package was focused on getting people into jobs.
“JobTrainer will ensure more Australians have the chance to reskill or upskill to fill the jobs on the other side of this crisis,” the Prime Minister said.
“COVID-19 is unprecedented but I want Australians to be ready for the sorts of jobs that will come as we build back and recover.
The package also includes an additional $1.5 billion to expand the wage incentive to help keep apprentices in work. It builds on the initial $1.3 billion package announced in March.
In addition to small businesses already covered, the wage subsidy will now be available to medium businesses with less than 200 employees for apprentices employed as at 1 July 2020.
Around 180,000 apprentices and 90,000 small and medium businesses which employ them will now be supported, with the program extended by six months to March 2021.
The initiative covers 50 per cent of the wages paid to apprentices and trainees, up to $7,000 per quarter.
Local MP Sussan Ley said the new skills initiative will provide a much-needed boost to jobseekers and school leavers in Farrer to ensure locals are trained in the skills actually needed by our local business community.
“Backing training, apprentices and jobs is all part of the Morrison Government’s plan to restore our economy after the coronavirus pandemic and keep Australians in our local area in work,” Ms Ley said.
*States and territories need to sign up to a new Heads of Agreement to access JobTrainer funding, with the agreement setting out immediate reforms to improve the vocational education and training sector, and providing the foundation for long term improvements as outlined by the Prime Minister in his recent speech to the National Press Club.
More details will be available at www.myskills.gov.au