It’s free to join the Victorian Chamber Community!

It’s free to join the Victorian Chamber Community!

Sign up and receive the latest business news and updates, opportunities to network and shape Advocacy from Victoria’s largest and most influential partner.

It’s free to join the Victorian Chamber Community!

Home
/
Policy & Advocacy
/
Advocacy Agenda
/
Skills & training
/
Advocacy Agenda
Energy, ESG & climate change
Securing Our Energy Future Policy PaperAchieving a Net-Zero Economy: Roadmap for Victorian Businesses
Cyber, AI & digital
Industry, innovation & commercialisation
Health Industry TaskforceInternational Engagement TaskforceSmall Business TaskforceVisitor economy
Planning & infrastructure
Housing TaskforceTransport Taskforce
Regional development
Agribusiness Taskforce
Regulation & taxation
Regulatory Reform Policy PaperCost and Ease of Doing Business in Victoria Taskforce
Skills & training
Career Services Policy PaperVictorian Statement for the Jobs and Skills Summit 2022Higher Education TaskforceStrategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System Submission
Advocacy Agenda
Securing Our Energy Future Policy PaperAchieving a Net-Zero Economy: Roadmap for Victorian Businesses
Cyber, AI & digital
Health Industry TaskforceInternational Engagement TaskforceSmall Business TaskforceVisitor economy
Housing TaskforceTransport Taskforce
Agribusiness Taskforce
Regulatory Reform Policy PaperCost and Ease of Doing Business in Victoria Taskforce
Career Services Policy PaperVictorian Statement for the Jobs and Skills Summit 2022Higher Education TaskforceStrategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System Submission

Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System Submission


Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System Submission

Cutting the Apprenticeship Wage Subsidy and Hiring Incentives payments to businesses could harm apprenticeship commencements and completions, worsen skill shortages, and slow economic growth. This submission also recommends the establishment of a Job Creation Incentive Program to boost apprenticeship numbers, offering quarterly payments and additional rewards for priority skills, as well as other initiatives to boost jobs and skills in Victoria.

Download the Submission

Summary of recommendations

The Incentive System
1 Postpone any changes to the incentive system pending the outcomes of the Strategic Review of the apprenticeship system and development of a new model.
2 Create a five-year Job Creation Incentive Program to drive commencements and completions. The Job Creation Incentive Program provides incentive payments on a quarterly basis and a lump sum payment at the completion of study, with additional payments made for those who are attaining skills on the priority list.
Pipeline and Recruitment
3 Improve pathways for young people entering the apprenticeship system in school through a coordinated approach to promoting apprenticeships. Programs such as Head Start in Victoria can be built on for national implementation but need deeper connection to industry.
4 Work with industry to develop best practice guides and toolkits for matching apprentices with employers. The guides would include material for students considering apprenticeships (training requirements, career opportunities, benefit of completion) and materials for employers (recruitment, mentoring, HR advice).
Complexity and ongoing training
5 Allocate existing free TAFE funding towards apprenticeship/traineeship programs to support employers by reducing costs associated with off-the-job training costs and fees.
6 Address on costs for pre-apprentices such as training fees as this will help increase opportunities for employers to take on this cohort and drive further improvements in the overall apprenticeship program. Relatedly, ensure that higher apprenticeships can access relevant subsidies.
Accurate Data
7 Implement a National Skills Passport to provide an efficient method of data capture allowing employers to view and verify qualifications and competencies while also allowing the apprentice to maximise their career progression.
Regions
8 Offer incentives broadly across the apprenticeship system in regions, so bespoke, regional training needs are captured within incentive schemes and easily communicated and understood, to increase the number regional apprenticeship opportunities.
9 To address the skills shortages in regional areas, examine offsets for the higher costs for apprentices and employers undertaking apprenticeships in Regional Australia.
Participation
10 Include robust career advice with equal consideration of further education options in the VET sector, other forms of higher education and up-to-date information on current and emerging jobs, industries and skills to increase participation rates.
11 Develop targeted initiatives for hard-to-reach cohorts including micro-credentialing and foundational skills incentives, particularly in digital skills for mature women returning to the workforce or young people who exited school at an early age.
12 Design a program similar to the Employment Parity Initiative, which was a best-practice program that achieved significant results for employment of Indigenous youth and expand to include other vulnerable cohorts that face barriers including people with disability, refugees and mature women.

 

Was this page helpful?

Memberships for wherever you are in business

Hard times. Good times. Crunch time. Growth time. We’re here to support you at all those pivotal times in your business life. We’ve now tailored our range of memberships to fit wherever you are in business – today and well into the future.

Let’s go
Memberships for wherever you are in business

Restricted Page

You are being redirected to our login page!