The vocational education and training sector has welcomed a new $1 billion JobTrainer program as it prepares to deal with a significant spike in demand for training.
The skills package will aim to provide 340,700 more training places, with about 5700 of those expected to be added in the ACT. This will be jointly funded with $500 million from the federal government and $500 from the state and territory governments.
In addition, the wage subsidy to help keep existing apprentices in work will be extended with a further $1.5 billion investment.
Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia chief executive Troy Williams said the announcement was good news for independent providers, who supported about three quarters of ACT trainees.
"We know not only here in the territory but across the country there has been a stronger interest in vocational education and training programs, from those who are unemployed and looking for work or those who are about to finish high school and looking for work and we appreciate they all need new skills," he said.
Under the JobTrainer program, courses will be free or low-cost in areas of identified need.
General manager of MEGT Apprentice Network Provider Paul Bennett said these courses were likely to be in construction, health, information and communication technology and logistics.
Mr Bennett also welcomed the new package as it would help provide career pathways for about 180,000 school leavers who will be looking for further skills training.
"JobTrainer is clearly to ensure there's a positive uptake [of training] instead of a massive bottleneck and dip from a transition perspective for those school leavers," he said.
He said getting more people into vocational education and training would have a positive social impact as well as an economic impact.
Mr Williams said the Morrison government had shown it was committed to the VET sector with a suite of reforms.
"We're seeing a series of reforms: The Joyce Review into vocational education and training and the current Productivity Commission review, the establishment of the National Skills Commission, the establishment of the National Careers Institute," he said.
"This new funding shows the government has a really strong interest in vocational education and training but more importantly a coordinated plan which is something we haven't seen in a decade.
"So it's really good that several pieces of the puzzle are now coming together fortuitously when the country needs it most."
