Supporting a job ready generation

Will Hodgman,Premier

The Tasmanian Liberal Government is investing in the skills and training needed to boost apprenticeship and trainee numbers and deliver a job ready generation.

We want to support our kids to succeed, which is why we’re delivering a target of 300 new apprenticeships and traineeships as part of our Growing Apprenticeships and Traineeships: Industry and Regionally-led Solutions program.

A further seven projects will be supported under the initiative totalling $1.3 million, and will include small to medium enterprises operating in the early childhood, health care, aged care, disability, aquaculture and construction industries.

This program specifically targets industries and regions that have barriers preventing employers from hiring apprentices and trainees. It takes a demand-driven, industry-led approach and uses a successful model of collaboration between a number of partners.

Tasmania continues to perform better than the Australian average across most key indicators with 5,140 more apprenticeship and traineeship commencements in the past 12 months, and we have a target to increase the number of apprentices and trainees by 40 per cent by 2025.

This is in stark contrast to the disaster under the Labor-Green Government, which saw the number of people commencing apprenticeships steeply decline by 40 per cent* and the complete destruction of TAFE.

There are 15,000 more Tasmanians in work now compared to when we came to office, and we are focused on delivering our Plan, and investing strategically so all Tasmanians, no matter where they live, can share the benefits of our growing economy.

*The Skills Institute 2013 Annual Report.

/Public Release. View in full here.