Apprenticeship Boost extended

INDUSTRY NEWS

APPRENTICESHIP BOOST SUBSIDIES EXTENDED

With an estimated 3,500 more plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers needed across New Zealand, the industry has welcomed the extension of the government’s Apprenticeship Boost scheme in this year’s budget.

Employers can get funding for up to two years per apprentice until the scheme ends on 31 December 2023. Payments are currently $1,000 a month for first-year apprentices and $500 a month for second-year apprentices, but a new rate of $500 for all apprentices, whether they are in their first or second year, will apply from 5 August 2022.

Construction Industry Council Chair Graham Burke told NewstalkZB that the boost is a good start but not enough on its own to fix the trades skills shortage, due to the increasing number of baby boomers reaching retirement age and a slowing birth rate in early 2000s meaning lower school leaver numbers.

Master Plumbers and Masterlink CEO Greg Wallace says the industry has been calling for an extension to the Apprenticeship Boost scheme for a long time, and he hopes this will encourage more construction sector employers to take on an apprentice.