Today, Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Minister of Industry, Ian MacFarlane announced two new innovative training programmes. The aim of these programmes will be to enable young job seekers in regional communities to successfully get a job and provide employers the skilled employees they need to grow their business.
The Training for Employment Scholarship programme will assist employers in regional areas of high youth unemployment, to provide job specific training for new employees.
This will be the first time that small businesses will be able to access wholly funded government training that is tailored to the training needs of their business. If they decide to hire an unemployed person aged 18-24, they will be eligible to receive funding to pay for up to 26 weeks of training.
The Government will invest $38 million in 7,500 scholarships which will be provided initially to enable employers to hire new employees and provide them with the training they need to excel in their new jobs.
The new scholarships will enable businesses to determine the additional training an employee may need for their workplace such as forklift driving, logistics, safe food handling or retail training. Employers who are approved for a scholarship will be able to engage a training provider of their choice and be reimbursed for the cost of training once their employee completes their training.
The Youth Employment Pathways programme will also be established to assist young Australians in regional areas to identify and successfully start on the path of their chosen career by returning to school, starting vocational education training, or moving into the workforce.
Community organisations will be able to apply for funding to deliver support services and training to young Australians aged 15-18 who are not in school.
3,000 places will be offered initially and enable community organisations to develop and provide a training plan to meet individual needs such as job search and industry specific job training.
Paul Miles, CEO of BUSY At Work, is pleased with the announcement of the two programs.
“We are excited to see the introduction of measures that will have a positive impact on youth unemployment in regional areas, providing them with opportunity and guidance. Industry driven programmes are a great way to get our young people working.”
The Training for Employment Scholarship and Youth Employment Pathways programmes will start in March 2015.
