VERTO chief executive, Ron Maxwell, today welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to apprenticeships and training in the 2017-2018 Federal Budget.
Mr Maxwell said as an Apprenticeship Network Provider in New South Wales, VERTO has been calling for a renewed investment into the vocational education and training sector, and stimulus measures to boost dwindling apprenticeship numbers.
“We welcome the Federal Government’s investment of $1.5 billion over four years to support up to 300,000 apprenticeships and traineeships through the Skilling Australians Fund,” Mr Maxwell said.
“We are also pleased the Federal Government has taken a multi-pronged approach to this issue by indicating this package may include a range of measures such as employer incentives, pre-apprenticeship support, and initiatives to support the attraction and retention of more apprentices.
“We also note that the 2017-2018 Federal Budget contains a $60 million investment over two years for a new Industry Specialist Mentoring Program to support around 47,000 at-risk apprentices.
“This funding appears to target those apprentices and trainees in industries undergoing structural change, as well as regionally based, mature age and retrenched apprentices,” Mr Maxwell said.
Mr. Maxwell also welcomed the Federal Government’s measures to support Australia’s most vulnerable by fully funding the National Disability Insurance Scheme, committing $24 million over four years for Disability Employment Services, and by investing $146.9 million over four years to extend and enhance business support for Indigenous entrepreneurs.
