TRAINING organisations Skillset and VERTO have welcomed news of a two billion dollar skills package announced on Thursday morning, that will provide training for up to 340,700 school leavers and job seekers and an extension of the existing wage subsidy program for apprentices and trainees.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement on Thursday which will give businesses up to $7,000 a quarter to keep on an apprentice, which is expected to support about 180,000 jobs.
The scheme was initially due to expire in September and was only available to small businesses, but from now it will cover medium businesses with up to 199 employees until March 2021.
Under the changes more than 30,000 small and medium businesses who employ apprentices across NSW could qualify for the wage subsidy.
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Skillset Chief Executive Officer, Craig Randazzo said the funding will help support the retention of thousands of apprentices and trainees across western NSW.
"This is an important announcement to ensure apprentices and trainees, as well as a range of industry sectors are supported through the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to support the future prosperity in the region.
"It's clear the intention of Federal Government is to keep people in jobs and also stimulate the labour market with new initiatives. We anticipate this package will only increase employment and training opportunities throughout the region."
Ron Maxwell, Chief Executive Officer for VERTO also welcomed the announcement, saying the package will enable employers, apprentices and trainees to look to the future and play an important role in Australia's economic recovery.
"The JobTrainer package is an incredibly important initiative to help more Australians into work. It's an enormous boost to school leavers, apprentices and employers that will help secure more apprenticeships and employment opportunities as we navigate recovery," he said.
"There's no doubt that COVID-19 has, and will continue to, provide employment challenges, and a program like this goes a long way to ensuring we keep as many apprentices and their employers viable into the future as possible."
Another aspect of Thursday's announcement was specifically aimed at helping an estimated 250,000 students who will leave school this year into employment pathways.
"It is a difficult time for school leavers and JobTrainer provides support for them to explore their vocational training options to find new career pathways in a tough market," Mr Maxwell added.
