More Apprenticeships Support Services Coming

By Linda Nall (MEGT)

Commencing on 1 July 2015, the next generation support services model will introduce expanded services to better support apprentices and their employers and improve apprentice retention and completion rates. The new Australian Apprenticeship Support Network will provide a one-stop-shop for employers, particularly small business, looking to hire a new apprentice suited to their business.

A competitive tendering process will be conducted in the last quarter of 2014-15. More information on the reform of Australian Apprenticeships Support Services will be made available on the Australian Apprenticeships website www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au prior to the release of tender documentation.

The new service is designed to assist apprentices to find an employer to begin their apprenticeship and receive mentoring through to the successful completion of their apprenticeship.

The new Australian Apprenticeship Support Network will also undertake community employment outreach by working with employers, industry groups and local chambers of commerce to identify job opportunities and employer skills needs.

Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane said the current system is largely administrative – processing paperwork for contract sign-ups and administrative compliance for employers, state and Commonwealth departments – without the appropriate support that apprentices and employers need.

There is too much red tape, with apprenticeship centres spending more than half their time filling out paperwork. The true success of the VET sector must be measured in how well it connects skilled workers to real jobs, not how much paperwork is completed.

The Government’s new streamlined and effective system will replace the unwieldy and overly bureaucratic system that has become bogged down in red tape.

The Australian Apprenticeship Support Network will:

• connect apprentices and employers through targeted job-matching
• provide advice about different course options and training delivery options
• deliver personalised mentoring and support to apprentices
• provide advice to businesses taking on apprentices, including their roles and responsibilities
• manage the administration of an apprenticeship including the training contract and
• administer the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program including employer incentives and Trade Support Loans.

For more detailed information visit the VET Reform website: www.vetreform.industry.gov.au or www.megt.com.au