Government to tip in half the cost of hiring new apprentices in $1.2bn scheme

The federal government is giving businesses more money to hire young workers, saying it has been a priority since the beginning of the pandemic.

Thousands of businesses will be paid half the wage of any new apprentice they employ as the federal government pours an extra $1.2bn into its scheme subsidising tradies.

Employers can receive up to $7000 a quarter to hire or keep on an apprentice, with carpenters, electricians, child carers and mechanics among the top occupations funded in NSW under the scheme so far.

In less than five months all 100,000 positions initially funded by the government have been taken up, with the additional funding expected to support about 70,000 more people to get an apprenticeship or trainee position.

The program will now be demand driven and has been extended for a full 12 months to include any new employees signed up before September 30 this year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce a scheme to subsidise tradies for businesses. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

NSW has already benefited from the program, with more than 30,000 apprentices and trainees across the state receiving the wage subsidy.

In a speech on Tuesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say the government has not “forgotten” people looking for work or reskilling.

“At the outset of the pandemic we made keeping apprentices in their jobs one of our first priorities,” he will say.

“These apprentices would likely have been the first to go. Such a loss would have been devastating for our economy.”

Mr Morrison will say uncapping the apprenticeship subsidy scheme means more businesses will be able to take advantage of the assistance and for longer.

So far in NSW the scheme has been most popular in the construction sector, with 4603 businesses taking on 6477 new tradies with wages subsidised.