MEGT, Australia’s largest and only national apprenticeship network provider, welcomes the Federal Government’s ongoing investment in the vocational education, apprenticeship and training sectors.
MEGT senior executive Paul Bennett said the measures announced will be a welcome relief for Australian employers who are facing a skills shortage, while providing employees and job seekers alike with compelling incentives to upskill or retrain.
“The extension of the Boosting Apprenticeships Commencements (BAC) program will encourage more employers to take on apprentices and trainees” Mr Bennett said.
The program has already created more than 100,000 apprentices and trainees secure an ‘earn and learn’ pathway”, and this extension will fund an additional 170,000 new starters.
“For any Australian interested in a career change, or looking to upskill, there is no better time than now.
“With more than $110 billion being spent on infrastructure over the next ten years, these projects will require thousands of labourers, engineers, skilled tradespeople and more”. First-year apprentice plumber Ross Williams understands the importance of reskilling. Ross was a qualified bricklayer who started his own stonemasonry business just a month before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Work quickly dried up, at which point he realised the importance of reskilling.
Having always wanted to try his hand at plumbing, Ross signed up to start from scratch via a four-year plumbing apprenticeship.
“I was able to make the shift to a plumbing apprenticeship through MEGT. Six months in and I am loving it. I think everyone, no matter what their age or gender, should consider a trade apprenticeship because they’ll have a job for life.” said Ross.
According to Paul Bennett, creating an adaptable pipeline of skills is critical to Australia’s future workforce. “Education and jobs creation are both so important for Australia’s future workforce.
Being able to support people like Ross to find meaningful employment is what drives all of us at MEGT,” he said.
The Federal Government has also outlined a program to encourage 5,000 women to commence non-traditional apprenticeships. “We’re supportive of any measures that help women commence non-traditional apprenticeships and hope that this will shift pre-conceived attitudes”, Mr Bennett said.
MEGT (Australia) Ltd is an Australian not-for-profit organisation that has been supporting employers, apprentices, trainees, job seekers and students since 1982. MEGT is committed to making quality training and education solutions accessible to all Australians.
Source: MEGT