APPRENTICE SUBSIDIES BREAKDOWN
APPRENTICE SUBSIDIES BREAKDOWN In early March 2021, The Federal Government announced they would give trade businesses massive wage subsidies to promote new apprentices’ hire. The scheme aims to create around 70,000 new apprenticeships to close the unemployment gap in young Aussie workers. For eligible businesses, the Government will subsidise 50% of new trainee wages for the first year, up to a cap of $7,000 per quarter.
Youth unemployment rates set to rise
The Morrison Government enacted this programme to decrease the projected youth unemployment rate and help get young Aussies off Government support like Job Seeker and back into the workforce. The scheme is costing the Government about 1.2 billion dollars, with open talks about further extensions to the program if it’s seen to be successful in reducing youth unemployment rates. The ABC noted that “the announcement is designed to provide reassurance in particular to school leavers — whose education has been so disrupted by the pandemic — that they will have avenues for employment when they graduate this year.” Overall, it seems the programme has support from both political parties with Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers, noting that Labor largely welcomes the announcement.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, notes that data shows that by mid-February, the number of people in their 20s holding a job was down 2.5 per cent since the start of the pandemic. The next worst-hit age group were teenagers, down by 0.9 per cent. Studies show that when the unemployment rate rises, property crime rates increase in tangent. The long term impacts of prolonged youth unemployment include poor mental health, spikes in youth homelessness and drug and alcohol-related violence. 20
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