- The Crisafulli Government is delivering a major boost for future tradies by helping businesses put on construction apprentices through the new TradieStart program.
- Hugely successful Small Business Apprenticeship Program delivered by the Crisafulli Government is also extending.
- The Crisafulli Government is building Queensland’s future and turning the tide on Labor’s Skills Crisis.
The Crisafulli Government is building Queensland’s future by delivering a career kickstart for 4,500 construction apprentices, by launching the new TradieStart program and the next stage of the successful Small Business Apprenticeship Program.
The two initiatives will provide a substantial boost in combating Labor’s Skills Crisis, which created a predicted peak shortfall of 50,000 construction workers across Queensland.
The new TradieStart program will cover 2,500 eligible construction, plumbing, engineering and electrical apprenticeships, with small businesses putting on their first apprentice receiving a base payment of $10,000 and an additional $4,000 if the apprentice is over 21.
A further $2,000 is also available if the apprentice is hired from a priority cohort including veterans, women, people with a disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Medium and large businesses and Group Training Organisations can receive $10,000 for putting on a priority cohort apprentice with an additional $4,000 if they’re over 21.
The Crisafulli Government is also boosting the skills pipeline by extending the Small Business Apprenticeship Program to provide wage subsidies for another 2,000 construction apprenticeships.
The initiatives will be funded by Construction Skills Queensland in partnership with the Crisafulli Government, to help ease the workforce shortages created during Labor’s decade of decline.
Those failures are being compounded by the Federal Albanese Labor Government, which cut apprenticeship incentives by $1,000 for small businesses and altogether for larger employers.
While the Crisafulli Government is creating pathways for thousands of new apprentices and investing $201.1 million to deliver four new TAFE Centres of Excellence, the Albanese Labor Government is forging ahead with a Fee-Free TAFE proposal which would leave Queensland $208 million worse off and jeopardise 11,000 places.
Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training Ros Bates said the Crisafulli Government was delivering better services through a stronger economy and would continue to step up its support for a construction sector left damaged by Labor’s failure.
“We’re not just battling a skills crisis, we’re also fighting a Federal Labor Government which seems intent on making things worse,” Minister Bates said.
“Queensland construction workers have a golden era in front of them thanks to the Crisafulli Government’s ambitious infrastructure pipeline, and we’re delivering the help businesses need to get more hands on the tools.
“Steven Miles’ legacy was a construction skills shortage the size of a Suncorp Stadium crowd and his mates in Canberra don’t seem to understand that we need to back businesses and workers to get things built.
“While the Albanese Labor Government continues its cash grab by cutting support for apprentices, the Crisafulli Government is opening doors for Queenslanders keen to get on the tools and backing the businesses that put them on.”
Minister for Small and Family Business Steve Minnikin said the programs would be a game changer for Small Business and their apprentices looking to start a career in the trades.
“The Small Business Apprenticeship Pilot Program proved incredibly popular, and by extending that initiative while also introducing TradieStart, we’re creating even more opportunities for Queenslanders to pursue a career in the trades and help build our State’s future,” Minister Minnikin said.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and these programs will give them the confidence and support they need to take on apprentices, creating jobs and strengthening communities across Queensland.”
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services and Member for Clayfield Tim Nicholls said rebuilding the construction workforce was critical for delivering Queensland’s new and upgraded hospitals.
“The Crisafulli Government’s fully funded Hospital Rescue Plan is delivering three new and ten expanded hospitals across Queensland, and an infrastructure program of that size needs thousands of skilled construction workers,” Minister Nicholls said.
“This is another example of the Crisafulli Government fixing a Labor crisis and getting on with building the Queensland of the future.”
Construction Skills Queensland Chair Sue-Ann Fresneda said TradieStart was a targeted response to workforce shortages.
“Queensland’s construction pipeline presents a generational opportunity for the state but delivering it will depend on our ability to attract, retain and develop the skilled workforce needed to support it,” Ms Fresneda said.
“TradieStart helps employers invest in the next generation of tradies by reducing barriers to employing apprentices and creating more pathways into meaningful, long-term careers in construction.”
Small business owner Calum Moore, Director of KALM Construct, said incentives to take on apprentices were a crucial support for employers that want to train the next generation of skilled construction workers.
“Taking on an apprentice is a big commitment as an employer and without incentives like TradieStart and the Small Business Apprentice Program a lot of small businesses wouldn’t be able to make it happen, financially,” Mr Moore said.
“For us, these incentives make taking on an apprentice and giving back to the industry possible and I’d recommend them to other construction business owners.”
/who-and-sesam-event-in-lyon.tmb-768v.jpg?sfvrsn=6788f1a1_1)
