The Hon Gary Hardgrave MP - Minister for Vocational and Technical Education   Photo of The Hon Gary Hardgrave MP

 

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RECORD FUNDING FOR VOCATIONAL & TECHNICAL EDUCATION

10 May 2005 MINBUD 02/05

This year the Australian Government will spend a record $2.5 billion on vocational and technical education, including an additional injection of over $280.6 million for a suite of new initiatives designed to address skills needs, particularly in the traditional trades.

"Australia’s economic boom has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for skilled workers," the Minister for Vocational and Technical Education, Gary Hardgrave, said today.

"Today, the greatest challenge for business is finding people to take up skilled jobs.

"Successive Howard Governments have worked solidly with industry to address identified skills needs. In this fourth term of Government, we are placing additional focus on addressing industry skills needs, particularly in the traditional trades."

The funding package for 2005-06 includes:

  • $65.4 million to establish 24 Australian Technical Colleges in regional and metropolitan locations suffering skills needs, to provide quality education and trade training for senior secondary students;
  • $4.3 million to establish the Institute for Trade Skills Excellence which will provide industry, as a key client of the national training system, with the capacity to identify, acknowledge, reward and promote excellence in trade skills development and training;
  • $28.7 million for a tool kit for each New Apprentice starting an apprenticeship in specific trades from 1 July 2005;
  • $12.6 million for an additional 5,000 places in the New Apprenticeships Access Programme which assists job seekers who experience barriers to skilled employment to obtain and maintain a New Apprenticeship;
  • $5.8 million towards an additional 7,000 School-Based New Apprenticeship opportunities and up to 4,500 pre-vocational training places in the trades over the next four years through group training arrangements;
  • $15.3 million for a Scholarship for New Apprentices who successfully complete the first and second year of a New Apprenticeship in a trade with skills needs with a small to medium sized business;
  • $0.3 million for incentives for employers of young people who have obtained a recognised qualification at their own expense after leaving school (currently they are not eligible to attract incentives);
  • $0.5 million to extend entitlement to Living Away From Home Allowance to third year New Apprentices (currently only first and second year New Apprentices are eligible);
  • $120 million to extend entitlement to the Youth Allowance, Austudy and Abstudy to New Apprentices to ease the financial burden they face in the initial years of training;
  • $0.2 million to minimise poaching of New Apprentices nearing the completion of their apprenticeship by recognising the contribution of each employer who provided more than 25% of the training for the New Apprentice; and
  • $27.5 million for the Australian Network of Industry Career Advisers to ensure that all 13-19 year olds have access to professional career advice to achieve a successful transition through school and from school to further education, training and work.

"Vocational and technical education provides opportunities for the 70% of young people who do not enter university straight from school," Mr Hardgrave said.

The Australian Government is providing an additional $157.8 million over three years from 2006-07 to assist older Australians and parents to make a successful transition back into the workforce as part of the Welfare to Work initiative.

The package boosts funds available to train Australians preparing to reenter the workforce. The package includes:

  • $42.6 million to assist parents and older workers receiving welfare payments to obtain qualifications that will improve their employment prospects and help them re-enter the workforce;
  • $8.2 million for the Language Literacy and Numeracy Programme to provide training to increase the English language or literacy and numeracy competency for people moving from welfare to work;
  • $312,000 each year from 2006-07 to support a further 1,200 parents with career advice as they prepare to return to work; and
  • reducing the taper rate for Youth Allowance students, Austudy and ABSTUDY recipients to enable full-time students keep more of their allowance while working.

"Welfare to Work encourages self-reliance and recognises the best form of income is from paid employment. However, some people will require access to education or training before they can seek work," Mr Gary Hardgrave said.

"The vocational and technical education system has grown by 35% since 1995, from 1.3 million students in 1995 to more than 1.7 million in 2003, which represents more than one ninth of Australia’s working age population.

"Today there are almost 394,000 New Apprentices in training, compared with around 144,000 in the mid 1990s. New Apprenticeships are available in more than 500 occupations –– commencements in trades and related New Apprenticeships increased by 19% in the 12 months to September 2004.

"Our challenge for Australia is to maintain and further strengthen the vocational and technical education sector by building an industry-led system that delivers what Australian businesses, communities and individuals need to build their own, and our collective, economic and social prosperity."

Media Contact:
Mr Hardgrave’s Office Suzanne Ferguson 0402 896 100

 

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