Tasmanian school leavers and job seekers will benefit from increased access to low-fee or free training under a significant investment through the JobTrainer Fund to be rolled out across Tasmania.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, said strengthening Australia’s skills and training system is a priority as the nation responds to COVID-19.
The $1 billion JobTrainer program will provide up to an additional 340,700 training places across the country for school leavers and help upskill and retrain jobseekers.
“JobTrainer is central to Australia’s recovery from COVID-19. It will provide Australians with new opportunities and skills,” Minister Cash said.
“It is a significant joint investment by the Commonwealth and States and Territories.”
An additional $21.04 million will be injected into Tasmania’s vocational education and training (VET) sector, with $10.52 million from the Australian Government matched dollar-for-dollar by the Tasmanian Government.
Tasmanian Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Training, Jeremy Rockliff MP said school leavers and job seekers will benefit from this training funding boost.
“This will provide Tasmanians with valuable opportunities and skills as the state recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Minister Rockliff said.
The JobTrainer Fund is part of the Australian Government’s $6.5 billion investment in VET in 2020-21.
Minister Cash said this includes additional funding under the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy, which has provided more than $500 million to employers across Australia since April this year.
“Of this the Government has invested almost $18 million to assist 1,563 employers to retain 2,739 apprentices and trainees in Tasmania,” Minister Cash said.
“The Government is committed to strengthening our VET system to get Australians into work and help drive the nation’s prosperity in the years to come.”
