Apprenticeships and traineeships

Big Build apprenticeships

Funding of $6.6 million in 2020-21 ($33 million in total) has been allocated to expand opportunities for apprentices and trainees through a flagship Big Build training pathway. A new division of the Department of Education and Training will be established to oversee and coordinate the employment and training of apprentices and trainees on Big Build infrastructure projects. This new approach will leverage group training organisations and Victoria's infrastructure program to connect new apprentices to employers working on the State's public infrastructure projects, allowing them to move between projects when work on a particular job is finished. The pathway will enhance the impact of the Major Projects Skills Guarantee, and support the employment and training of up to 1,500 apprentices and trainees each year. This initiative forms part of the $1 billion dollar investment in TAFE - see the Training providers and programs section below for other elements of this package (Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 2; Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 52; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 28 and 38).

Apprenticeships growth strategy

$9.7 million in 2020-21 and $9.6 million in 2021-22 is provided for the Apprenticeships growth strategy. The strategy includes funding to continue and enhance the Apprenticeship Support Officer program to target apprentices most at-risk of dropping out, and an Apprenticeship Innovation Fund to develop innovative approaches to boost commencements and ensure retrenched apprentices and trainees complete their training. A dedicated stream of the Apprenticeship Innovation Fund ($5 million) will support more women into trades through the provision of grants to eligible industry and training organisations to support and encourage women to pursue non-traditional roles, including in the construction industry. Additional funding will support group training organisations to deliver more apprenticeships and traineeships and increase under-represented cohorts' participation in priority areas, including women and disadvantaged Victorians (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 28 and 37; Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 22).

Higher apprenticeships and traineeships

$6 million over three years ($0.7 million in 2020-21) is allocated to expand the development and pilot of new higher apprenticeships and traineeships in the social service sector. This will create opportunities for 400 existing workers to gain credentials and upskill while continuing employment, and it will inform future use of these models in areas of critical skills need. The funding will enable disability support workers to undertake qualifications such as the Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 28 and 38; Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 49; Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 23).

Pathways to employment in growth sectors

The Pathways to employment in growth sectors package will receive $4.2 million in 2020-21 ($16.6 million over 3 years) to support students and job seekers who are looking to pursue a career in community services. The package funds: vacation internships and financial support for undergraduates completing child protection studies; carer relief and other supports to assist unpaid carers pursuing a career in community services, disability and aged care sectors to undertake studies and clinical placements; up to 240 traineeships in community services organisations to develop participants' skills and knowledge in the prevention of family violence and sexual assault; and the establishment of a new family violence graduate program to create a structured pathway for young people to transition into specialist family violence positions (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 63 and 69; Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 49; Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 23).

TAFE and training driving economic recovery - retrenched apprentices and trainees

Apprentices and trainees retrenched during the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be supported through job matching and other assistance. This initiative forms part of the $1 billion dollar investment in TAFE - see the Training providers and programs section below for other elements of this package (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, p. 39).

Women in Transport program

The Women in Transport program includes scholarships for 20 women undertaking diesel mechanic apprenticeships - see the Training providers and programs section below for more information about this program (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 127 and 131).

Suburban Rail Loop

The commencement in 2020-21 of the $2.2 billion Suburban Rail Loop is anticipated to support up to 20 000 jobs during construction and start the careers of 2 000 apprentices, trainees and cadets (Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 85).

Employment

Victoria's Digital Future Now - Digital Skills and Jobs program

Recognising that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated technology-enhanced working and business practices and the demand for digital skills, $64 million is allocated to establish a Digital Skills and Jobs program. Unemployed Victorians will be able to undertake digital skills training or take part in a digital internship with an employer on a digital project. The program forms part of the 'Victoria's Digital Future Now' initiative (Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 2; Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 52; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, p. 92).

Jobs for Victoria

Jobs for Victoria is a new $619 million ($151.3 million in 2020-21) initiative to maximise jobs and help Victorians into work. The initiative includes:

• $250 million to complement Commonwealth initiatives by supporting businesses to hire more than 10 000 Victorians by providing wage subsidies for six-month work placements. At least $150 million of this funding will go towards getting women back in work, of which $50 million is for women over 45.
• Jobs Victoria delivery sites will host expert jobs mentors and career counsellors and accessibility will be improved through the delivery of an online jobs platform and helpline. Jobs and skills advocates will also assist job seekers to access appropriate supports.
• Funding for the continuation of the JobsBank program (Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 2; Budget information paper: Gender equality budget statement, p. 4; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 83 and 94).

Working for Victoria Initiative

$87.5 million is provided in 2020-21 for the Working for Victoria Initiative. Building on funding of $500 million in 2019-20, this initiative ensures that job seekers, including people who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been able to find employment in roles that support the community. This includes the delivery of 26 free online training courses to aid job seekers in finding employment and the development of an online jobs marketplace (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 83 and 94; Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 24).

Women in Construction

Funding of $5 milion over three years ($1.8 million in 2020-21) is provided to deliver the short, medium and long-term actions outlined in the Women in Construction Strategy and to help implement the Building Equality Policy. Training and employment opportunities for women on government construction projects valued at $20 million or more will be created, promoting construction as an attractive and viable career option for women and encouraging workplaces to be inclusive and adaptive (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 115 and 120; Budget information paper: Gender equality budget statement, p. 5).

Secure Work

$5 million is allocated to undertake the further policy development, modelling, consultation and stakeholder engagement required to finalise the design of a new Secure Work Pilot Scheme. The proposed scheme will provide five days of sick and carers pay at the national minimum wage for casual or insecure workers in priority industries. Subject to future government funding, a two-year pilot will be rolled out by no later than 2022 (Budget information paper: Gender equality budget statement, p. 3; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 115 and 120).

Women Building Surveyors

$3.2 million in each year for two years is allocated to provide a subsidy to each Victorian local government authority to employ and train new building surveyors, to attract more women to the profession. The Women Building Surveyors initiative will help address a current shortage of building surveyors in Victoria. It will also increase the capacity in local government to effectively regulate and provide building services to the community, meeting an expected increase in demand after the COVID-19 pandemic (Budget information paper: Gender equality budget statement, p. 4; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 84 and 96).

Impact 21

Funding of $1.3 million is provided in 2020-21 to deliver the Impact 21 program, which will create new employment pathways for people with an intellectual disability, including Down syndrome, by developing work-ready skills in secondary school and tailoring roles and support in collaboration with employers (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 83 and 93).

Industry

Putting Local Jobs First

Funding of $9.6 million is provided for the Putting Local Jobs First initiative in 2020-21 to:

• Ensure that the office of the Local Jobs First Commissioner and Industry Capability Network Victoria are resourced to oversee and enforce compliance with the Local Jobs First Act 2003 and the Local Jobs First Policy which includes minimum requirements for local content on specified projects and providing employment opportunities for apprentices, trainees and cadets.
• Implement the Fair Jobs Code, delivering the Government's election commitment.
• Develop marketing campaigns to support business confidence and position Victoria as a revived manufacturing centre and Australia's digital and innovation capital (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 83 and 94).

Victoria's Digital Future Now

The Victoria's Digital Future Now initiative is a $626 million package to support Victoria's transition to a digital economy. Business-grade broadband will be delivered across suburbs and regional towns to enable businesses, employees and job seekers to fully participate in the emerging digital economy. Funding is also provided to eradicate mobile blackspots and improve connectivity in regional Victoria. A new flagship digital and innovation hub will be established in Cremorne to accelerate the development of the technology precinct, and the delivery of digital short courses and industry internships will improve digital capability. The package includes additional funding of $50 million each year in 2024-25 and 2025-26 that is beyond the forward estimates (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 83 and 92; Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 3).

Market capacity

The 2020-21 budget funds capital projects with a total estimated investment of up to $19.8 billion, with $134 billion of new and existing projects now funded and underway. In the 2020-21 Budget government infrastructure investment (GII) will increase to an average of $19.6 billion a year over the budget and forward estimates - around four times the 10-year average to 2014-15. Victoria's Jobs Plan and the 2020-21 budget prioritise infrastructure investment to support jobs and ensure Victoria has a pipeline of work to boost productivity and support business confidence. This elevated level of infrastructure investment in Victoria coincides with similar increases in other Australian jurisdictions. To mitigate the impact of market and supply chain constraints, a range of strategies to support growth in the construction industry has been implemented, including freeing up supply chains, an extractive resources strategy and increasing investment in skills. Additional funding is being provided to meet anticipated demand for training, to enhance support for apprentices across sectors, including those most at-risk of dropping out, and to encourage more women to pursue non-traditional roles. Opportunities for apprentices and trainees will be expanded through a new approach to coordinating opportunities across Victoria's Big Build infrastructure projects (Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, pp. 52 and 95).

New jobs tax credit

Forming part of the Jobs Plan, the New jobs tax credit will be provided to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to re-employ staff, restore staff hours and hire additional staff. Businesses with annual Australian group wages less than $10 million will receive a non-refundable credit of 10 cents for every dollar of Victorian wages paid in 2020-21 and 2021-22 above the previous year's wages. Businesses will be able to apply the credit to receive a refund or waiver of payroll tax liabilities. The cost of the tax credit is estimated at $836 million over three years, with $224.6 million expected in 2020-21. Eligible businesses with annual Victorian payrolls of up to $10 million have also been provided the option to defer their payroll tax for 2020-21, to be repayed in quarterly instalments over the 2021-22 financial year. Universities have the option to defer payroll tax liabilities for the first half of 2020-21. Eligible universities must pay at least half of the deferred amount by June 2022 and the balance by June 2023 (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 150, 151 and 154; Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 2).

Jobs Plan initiatives

Other initiatives to support industry included in the Jobs Plan are:

• A $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria Fund to support research and development adoption and commercialisation in health and life-sciences, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, clean energy and digital technologies (Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 33).
• $210 million to support the research and growth of our medical research organisations and institutes (Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 33).
• $220 million to protect Victoria's experience and creative economies, and help makers and creators get back on their feet. Support for creative industries includes: $9 million for the independent creative and live music industry sectors, and an extension to the Sustaining Creative Workers initiative to develop new projects, strengthen skills and connect with new audiences and markets; $94 million for cultural institutions and creative sector organisations, and $35 million for regional infrastructure projects; and $21 million for the Creative State Screen Industry Recovery Package which includes support for the restart of physical production of international productions and extends the existing Victorian Screen Industry initiative (Budget information paper: Gender equality budget statement, p. 4; Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, p. 34).
• Ongoing recovery support for Victorian business includes grants of up to $50 000 for local business groups and chambers of commerce, to assist members to transition to COVID Normal, and $1.1 billion in cash grants to support small and medium-sized businesses comprising $822 million for the third round of the Business Support Fund, $251 million for the dedicated Licenced Venue Fund, and $44 million to equip businesses to thrive in COVID Normal, of which $20 million is allocated for small businesses to access off-the-shelf digital programs, training and work-shops designed to help businesses adapt to online operations (Budget information paper: Jobs Plan, pp. 36-37).
• $369 million for the Hospitality Support Program, to help the Victorian hospitality industry recover and employ more Victorians. $3.8 million is also allocated to continue the Parliament's Charity Meals Program. By employing hospitality staff that have been unable to work due to COVID-19 public health restrictions, Parliament's catering unit will prepare, package and distribute meals to Melbourne's homeless and vulnerable community members (Budget information paper: Gender equality budget statement, p. 4; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, p. 142).

National Agreements

In 2020-21, the Australian Government will provide estimated funding of $538 million to support Victoria's skills and workforce development services through the National Skills and Workforce Development Specific Purpose Payment (SPP) and National Partnership and Project payments.

National Skills and Workforce Development Specific Purpose Payment

Funding from the Commonwealth Government under the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development is estimated at $411 million in 2021-22 (Budget paper no. 4: Statement of finances, p. 188).

National Partnership Payments

The total estimated National Partnership Payments for 2020-21 is $130 million from the JobTrainer Fund (Budget paper no. 4: Statement of finances, p. 188).

The Australian Government 2020-21 budget estimates Victoria may also be eligible to receive $10.4 million under the Project Agreement for the National Infection Control Training Fund and $4.8 million under the Project Agreement for Revitalising TAFE Campuses Across Australia (Australian Government Budget paper no. 3: Federal financial relations, pp. 35-37).

Regulation

Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority

The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) is Victoria's education and training regulator. The VRQA registers education and training providers in vocational education and training (VET) that operate in Victoria only or Victoria and Western Australia only, school education, school and non-school senior secondary education and overseas secondary student exchange programs. It also registers children for home schooling in Victoria, accredits courses and registers qualifications, investigates complaints against the providers registered by the VRQA and regulates apprenticeships and traineeships in Victoria. The Strategy Review and Regulation output is allocated $118.4 million in 2020-21. This output develops, plans and monitors strategic policy settings across all stages of learning. It also includes inter-governmental negotiations as well as research, data and performance evaluations and supports regulation that ensures quality education and training is delivered (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, p. 163).

Training providers and programs

Establishing the Victorian Skills Authority

$86 million funding is provided over four years to establish the Victorian Skills Authority. The Victorian Skills Authority will be an anchor organisation, bringing together industry, providers, and other stakeholders to identify priority training areas and develop an annual Victorian Skills Plan. The Victorian Skills Authority will also support continuous improvement in the quality of teaching and training (Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 15; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 22 and 29).

TAFE reform

The Office of TAFE Coordination and Delivery will be established as a separate business unit in the Department of Education and Training by mid-2021 to lead public provider strategy and collaboration across the TAFE network. The budget initiative 'TAFE reform' is allocated funding of $15 million over two years ($11 million in 2021-22) to establish the office, and to continue the coordination of practical placements for TAFE students, including students in the allied health, individual support and community services, early childhood and education and training sectors (Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 15; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 22 and 29).

More training places for the TAFE and training system

Additional funding of $84.3 million in 2021-22 and $1.5 million each year over the forward estimates is included for the provision of subsidised VET. The 'More training places for the TAFE and training system' initiative is expected to provide an extra 12 200 subsidised training places. Funding is also provided for the Asylum Seeker VET program, which provides eligible asylum seekers with access to subsidised training (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 22 and 29; Budget overview, p. 33).

Increasing the funding of high-quality and accessible training

Contributions for government-subsidised accredited courses delivered by TAFEs and other registered training providers will increase in 2022, including subsidy rates, maximum concession contribution rates and non-Free TAFE fee waiver rates. The budget measure 'Increasing the funding of high-quality and accessible training' is allocated $99 million over four years, with $14.1 million in 2021-22 (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 22 and 28).

Enhancing secondary vocational pathways

$8.8 million funding is allocated in 2022-23 under the budget measure 'Enhancing secondary vocational pathways' to continue to support secondary students to access high-quality VET offerings for the second half of 2022. The Head Start Apprenticeship and Traineeship program will also continue. Additional funding will be provided to schools for essential materials for students undertaking VET subjects as part of senior secondary schooling (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 21, 24 and 25).

Increasing access to Tech Schools

$18.5 million over four years ($2.3 million in 2021-22) of additional funding is provided for Tech Schools in the Ballarat, Banyule, Nillumbik, Bendigo, Casey, Geelong, Gippsland, Monash, Whittlesea, Wyndham, and Yarra Ranges regions, to build students' science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills and connect them to jobs of the future. This initiative will expand on site and virtual delivery capabilities of existing Tech Schools and pilot a mobile Tech School delivery model for students in remote areas of Gippsland. Tech schools link secondary schools to industry, providing access to advanced technology, industry programs and exposure to career pathways. Students remain enrolled in local schools but attend classes at a Tech School campus hosted by universities or TAFE colleges (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 22 and 25; Victoria State Government Department of Education and Training program directory: Tech schools).

Building Better TAFEs Fund

The final distribution from the TAFE Equipment and Facilities Fund is $72 million over four years for upgrades at Bendigo Kangan Institute's Broadmeadows Campus and GOTAFE's Archer Street Shepparton Campus. $12 million is also provided to establish the TAFE Equipment and Facilities Fund - see the Apprenticeships and traineeships section above for more information (Budget overview, p. 33; Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 30 and 35).