The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most challenging experiences faced by many industries, businesses and individuals, and the youth have been particularly hard hit given the nature of their employment and their limited experience. 

As part of the Federal Government’s economic survival and recovery strategy, in October 2020 the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements (BAC) wage subsidy was announced, to help employers engage new apprentices and trainees to continue to build a pipeline of skilled workers. 

Under the scheme, any business or Group Training Organisation that engages an Australian Apprentice between 5 October 2020 and 31 March 2022 may be eligible for a subsidy of 50 per cent of wages paid to a new or recommencing apprentice or trainee for a 12-month period (to a maximum of $7,000 per quarter, per apprentice).  

To date, Apprenticeship Support Australia (ASA), as part of the Victorian Chamber, has administered payments of $42 million through the BAC initiative for employers across the state.  

Apprenticeship Support Australia General Manager Kristian McCarthy said; “The Victorian Chamber has long advocated for financial support for employers to incentivise greater engagement in our world-class Australian Apprenticeship system.”     

“The BAC wage subsidy has successfully reignited apprenticeship and traineeship participation across Victoria, providing valuable job opportunities for young people entering the workforce and ensuring our next generation of workers are equipped to meet future skills in demand.” 

In September of this year, in a bid to boost apprenticeship uptake and completion rates and uphold a commitment to a skilled economy, the Federal Government announced it would extend the wage subsidy program, pledging a further $716 million subsidised under the BAC program, to help workers complete their training.   

The extended scheme, titled the Completing Apprenticeship Commencements (CAC) program, will provide eligible employers with a 10 per cent wage subsidy for apprentices or trainees in their second year, to a maximum of $1,500 per quarter per apprentice, and five per cent in their third year, to a maximum of $750 per quarter per apprentice. 

Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business, Stuart Robert, said the new Completing Apprenticeship Commencements program will help maintain a pipeline of skilled workers right across the economy with 348,200 Australians training as at June 2021, 30 per cent more than the previous 12 months.   

“The Morrison Government has supported a generation of Australian apprentices in the face of the biggest shock to our economy since World War Two,” Minister Robert said.  

“While other countries shed their apprentice workforces, our highly successful Boosting Apprenticeship Commencement program saw new apprenticeships increase 141.5 per cent year on year.”

A business or Group Training Organisation may be eligible for the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidies if: 

• They engage an Australian Apprentice or trainee between 5 October 2020 and 31 March 2022.
• The apprentice or trainee is undertaking a Certificate II or higher qualification and has a training contract that is formally approved by the state training authority. Additional eligibility requirements will apply to existing workers. 

Final claims for payment must be lodged by 30 June 2025.