Labor promises new Advanced Entry Trades Training program to train and qualify 6000 new tradies
To help meet Labor’s ambitious housing target, the party has announced help for thousands of new tradies to get qualified and trained under their Advanced Entry Trades Training program.
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Skilled tradies will have their formal qualifications fast-tracked under a $78 million Labor pledge that aims to boost new home builds across Australia.
A re-elected Albanese government will establish a new Advanced Entry Trades Training program from 2026 to help 6000 unqualified workers get official recognition.
The program will assess participants’ existing skills and then fill in any gaps through free, individualised training at TAFEs and other high quality registered training organisations.
“Apprenticeship pathways are a key contributor to the workforce – but for adult workers, particularly those supporting a family, the thought of ‘restarting’ their career with an apprenticeship is a barrier to getting qualified in their trade,” Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles said.
“We are making it easier for workers with existing knowledge and skills to get the recognition and qualifications they deserve.”
The initiative, which will help Labor reach its goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years, is based on a NSW program that has seen more than 1200 students achieve their trade qualification in an average of seven months – rather than several years.
Residential housing construction and civil construction trades will be included in the program because they are critical to housing development.
However, relevant occupations will be worked through with states and territories based on labour market needs.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said skills and training were an important part of Labor’s $43bn plan to construct more homes, with $78m to be invested in the new program over four years from 2026.
For every new qualified tradie, an extra 2.4 houses will be erected each year, according to Master Builders Australia.
The program builds on Labor’s commitment to construct 100,000 homes for first-home buyers, if it wins the May election.
The government will also pay housing construction apprentices $10,000 in incentives from July 1, raise the living away from home allowance, and pay employers more to take on an apprentice living with a disability.
It is also investing more than $60m in a program to bolster the hiring, training and retainment of women in the building industry.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said it was tomorrow’s tradies who will help Australia “build our way out of this housing crisis”, and Labor was backing them every step of the way.
“The choice at this election couldn’t be clearer, between a Labor Party investing in training up our tradies with free TAFE, or a Coalition of cuts and chaos,” Ms O’Neil said.
The Coalition has committed to increasing the number of apprentices and trainees to 400,000 and will invest $260m in new technical colleges.
Small and medium businesses will also be incentivised to take on new apprentices in critical trades with $12,000 payments.
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Originally published as Labor promises new Advanced Entry Trades Training program to train and qualify 6000 new tradies
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