Already investing $3.9 billion in the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program, which provided 50% wage support for employers putting on a new apprentice or trainee, another $716 million, will be invested to extend support into the second and third year of an eligible Australian Apprenticeship under the Completing Apprenticeship Commencements program.
Under the new changes from October 2021, eligible employers will receive a 10 per cent wage subsidy in the second year of an eligible apprenticeship, and five per cent in the third year. The program will continue to support the 270,000 anticipated commencements under the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program from October 2020 to March 2022.
The wage subsidies for second and third year apprentices or trainees is available to those who have registered for the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencement program. Employers can still register for the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencement 50% wage subsidy for the first 12 months of their new apprentice or trainee and have up until March 2022 to register. Once registered you will then also be eligible for the Completing Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidies for your apprentices or trainees in their second and third year.
Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business, Stuart Robert, said the new Completing Apprenticeship Commencements program will help maintain a pipeline of skilled workers right across the economy with 348,200 Australians training as at June 2021, 30 per cent more than the previous 12 months.
“The Morrison Government has supported a generation of Australian apprentices in the face of the biggest shock to our economy since World War Two,” Minister Robert said.
“While other countries shed their apprentice workforces, our highly successful Boosting Apprenticeship Commencement program saw new apprenticeships increase 141.5 per cent year on year.
“The Morrison Government is now protecting the pipeline of apprentices today so they become the skilled workforce of tomorrow through the Completing Apprenticeship Commencements program, giving employers the confidence to retain an apprentice in their second and third years of training right through to completion”.
Managing Director for BUSY At Work, Paul Miles welcomed the announcement today saying, “The continuing wage support for employers to retain their apprentice or trainee will ensure more skilled staff for businesses in industries where many are experiencing skills shortages and the economic impact of COVID. Supporting employers to put on apprentices and trainees is a great strategy for Australia’s economic recovery and ensuring a skilled workforce for the future”.
For further information on how to apply for the program, including information on eligibility, visit www.dese.gov.au/boosting-apprenticeship-commencements or contact BUSY At Work, an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider. More information can also be found at https://www.busyatwork.com.au/stimulus-package-employers/
