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Industry wants more from apprentice scheme

Government’s $380m support programme is now live but the MTA wants it to be permanent rather than run for just 20 months.
Posted on 06 August, 2020
Industry wants more from apprentice scheme

The Motor Trade Association (MTA) has welcomed the launch of the Apprenticeship Boost scheme but is urging the government to go further.

An annual subsidy of up to $12,000 for first-year apprentices and $6,000 for second-year apprentices is now available for employers of apprentices under the programme.

The $380 million scheme, announced by Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education, in June, went live on August 5 and will be run by the Ministry of Social Development. 

It aims to keep first and second-year apprentices employed and training towards their qualification and will run until April 2022.

Greig Epps, strategy and advocacy manager at the MTA, is calling on politicians to make the extra support a permanent arrangement.

“This is a long-awaited win for employers supporting young people into trades,” he explains.

“We’re pleased with the way the government has responded to the calls made by the MTA and other industry leaders to provide direct support for the employers who take on the bulk of the burden of vocational education.

“With the scheme up and running, what we hope to see now is the government has the courage of its convictions and makes it permanent rather than only available until April 2022.”

Under Apprenticeship Boost, employers will be paid $1,000 a month for apprentices in their first 12 months of training, and $500 a month for apprentices in their second 12 months of training.

Applications are now open and payments will be made to employers of eligible apprentices once all the relevant information has been provided

Epps, pictured, says financial costs are the biggest obstacle to a business wanting to provide apprentice training.

“Our members know apprentices are the future of our industry and the economy,” he adds. “They want to take them on but they need the strong, clear and, above all, ongoing support from the government to make it viable.”

The government is also pouring an extra $30.3 million into an expanded Mana in Mahi – a programme to help people into long-term work with recognised industry qualifications.

Hipkins says: “This government recognises the challenges people and firms are facing with this one-in-100-year shock. We need to do everything we can to keep New Zealanders working, keep them training and help people to find work particularly in areas where there are skills shortages.

“Without initiatives like Apprenticeship Boost, we risk losing our apprentices and facing a massive skills shortage on the other side of the pandemic, like we did after the Global Financial Crisis. 

“Investing in our people is the focus of the government’s five-point plan for the economy as New Zealand rebuilds.”