VET & TAFE
campusreview.com.au
$3b skills deal done and dusted
The Skilling Australians Fund
is set to deliver 300,000 new
apprenticeships over five years,
but not all states have signed on.
T
here are still butchers and
bakers aplenty. Vehicle painters,
however, have mostly replaced
candlestick makers. And there will likely
soon be more of them, thanks to a new
agreement.
The government’s $1.5 billion Skilling
Australians Fund, which will deliver
300,000 new apprenticeships over five
years, was recently signed on to by five
state and territory governments.
NSW, the ACT, South Australia,
Tasmania and the Northern Territory will
match the fund, dollar for dollar, on a
pro-rata basis.
“In many parts of Australia there are
severe shortages of apprentices to take
up positions that are going begging,”
the National Apprentice Employment
Network and its relevant state and
territory counterparts provided in a
statement.
“We will work with stakeholders to
bring forward worthwhile projects that
will be eligible for funding under the
scheme.”
Because states and territories signed
the agreement by the Commonwealth
government’s deadline, it will furnish the
fund with an additional $50 million.
“It has taken time to get the scheme
off the ground, but we should be
assured that once it is up and running,
there will be a renewed interest in
projects that help to build skills in critical
parts of the economy,” TAFE Directors
Australia CEO Craig Robertson said.
Currently, skills shortages exist in the
healthcare, IT and professional services
sectors. ■
NSW to splash $285m on free tradies agreement
Trade courses in NSW will
no longer incur fees.
By Loren Smith and AAP
8
A
pprenticeships will be free in
NSW under a $285 million plan to
fund 100,000 positions.
As detailed in the NSW state budget,
the program for aspiring tradies
means students will no longer
have to pay up to $3000 in fees
to learn plumbing, carpentry or
bricklaying skills.
“We have already created positions
for apprentices … and now we
are covering the cost of training,”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian told
The Daily Telegraph.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet
said the economy is “humming”
and he wants to ensure “we are
equipping a workforce with the skills
to meet future demand” from the
government’s infrastructure building
program.
In providing free trade courses,
NSW follows Victoria – which
announced similar measures in its
May budget.
Yet, unlike Victoria, NSW is a
member of the Skilling Australians
Fund, set to deliver 300,000 new
apprenticeships over five years. ■