VERTO Chief Executive Officer, Ron Maxwell, has today welcomed the Federal Government’s $6.4 billion commitment to apprenticeships and training announced in the 2021-2022 Federal Budget.
Mr Maxwell said a number of investments announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenburg would play a vitally important role in the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was great to see that the Federal Government has placed significant importance on delivering more apprenticeships and heavily investing in skills and free training in last night’s budget,” Mr Maxwell said.
“These investments will not only help thousands of Australians of all ages, start or change careers or get back into the workforce, they will significantly boost the skills of Australian workers. With COVID-19 restrictions ensuring migration paths are closed for the foreseeable future, this investment is necessary to ensure we avoid a severe skills shortage.”
Some of the key investments in the budget included:
- An additional $500 million to expand the JobTrainer fund by a further 163,000 places, and extension of the program until 31 December 2022
- An additional $2.7 billion to extend the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program, supporting more than 170,000 new apprentices and trainees until 31 March 2022
- A new pathway service for 5,000 women to commence in a non-traditional apprenticeships
- Support for an additional 33,800 training places provided through JobTrainer to enable existing and new care workers to improve their qualifications
- An additional $216.7 million for additional training and financial support to encourage registered nurses to choose a career in aged care.
“Over the past 12 months VERTO has seen firsthand the positives that have come from the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements Program. We have helped thousands of young NSW residents get into apprenticeships that simply would not have been available to them without the 50 per cent wage subsidy offered to employers through this program,” Mr Maxwell said.
“As an organisation that prides itself on promoting apprenticeships and training to support more women in trades, as highlighted by our recent research report with Year 13 and ongoing partnership with Tradeswomen Australia, the Federal Government’s pathway to help 5,000 women to commence in a non-traditional apprenticeship is also a very welcome investment.
“We can’t wait to help more women find their dream careers.”
