Federal government wage subsidy and training funding sparks rush to build new workforce

The construction industry is welcoming extra government subsidies to boost apprentice numbers as it seeks to grow its workforce to meet future infrastructure and housing demand.

WAGE subsidies to encourage employers to take on more apprentices will help ease the shortage of trainees across the state, says the head of Master Builders Tasmania.

Under funding announced in Tuesday’s federal budget, young Australians wanting to retrain or upskill will have access to an extra 163,000 free and low-cost training courses through a $500m boost to the JobTrainer scheme, while $2.7bn will go towards creating 170,000 new apprenticeships.

Master Builders’ Tasmanian executive director Matthew Pollock said the building industry employed more apprentices than any other industry.

“We’ve seen an encouraging uptick in the number of Tasmanians willing to take on apprenticeships over the last six months and that really has been thanks to the federal government’s wage subsidy,” he said.

“There has been a shortage and it’s been increasingly difficult to get apprentices into the market and part of that is encouraging hosts to take them on – in those first couple of years it’s a big investment for an employer.

“We need a bigger construction workforce and we need it now to deliver the $16 billion in infrastructure and 30,000 homes to meet the needs of the Tasmanian community over the next decade.”

Apprentices Lucas Corrigan and Nathan Pearce, welding, are two new apprentices at Incat. Picture: Richard Jupe

Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat recently started 13 new apprenticeships, following the state government’s promise of a $100 million interest-free loan.

Incat chief executive officer Tim Burnell said more positions would become available.

“We had hundreds of apprentices in the 1990s, and we didn’t really keep up with that. Now, it’s coming home to roost that we need to start ramping up apprenticeships again,” he said.

A diverse range of people will be joining Incat’s workforce through the initiative.

“One guy (Ken Fisher) has been here for five years as a labourer and trades assistant. He started his apprenticeship in 2003, 17 years ago, and he’s now come back to finish it,” Mr Burnell said.

“Another guy’s (Nathan Pearce) been a chef for eight years and he just wanted a change.”