Federal Budget supports apprentices through skills, training and job creation

The ETU has been making sure that supporting electrical apprenticeships is front of mind for federal politicians. This budget is an important start for encouraging more people to take up an electrical trade and access support to complete it all the way through.

These initiatives include:

Australian Skills Guarantee

Starting this year, one in 10 workers on major Australian Government-funded projects must be an apprentice, trainee or paid cadet, and new minimum targets will be increase the number of women working on these projects too.

Mentoring support for apprentices

A new mentoring support model for Australian Apprenticeships will commence from 1 July 2024.

National Skills Agreement

Subject to the outcome of final negotiations with states and territories, $3.7B is allocated for a five-year National Skills Agreement that will commence on 1 January 2024. This funding will go to state and territory governments to reform and improve their VET systems, and we are hopeful it can be used to create a network of renewable energy training centres across the country.

Fee-free TAFE from 2024

300,000 TAFE places to be made fee free from January 2024.