The Ai Group Centre for Education and Training has scoured the Budget Papers for all the skills, education and training measures that may impact your company.
This Budget fundamentally delivers on election commitments and outcomes from the national Jobs and Skills Summit last September, as well as retaining and extending existing spending on certain measures as detailed below.
- $3.7 billion in the Contingency Reserve for a 5-year National Skills Agreement (NSA) that will commence on 1 January 2024. $5.5 million will be available in 2023–24 to continue supporting negotiations on the long-term skills funding agreement with the states and territories. The NSA will include the establishment of TAFE Centres of Excellence to partner with industry, universities and governments to address critical challenges in our economy such as Net Zero economy, priority sectors and sovereign capability, and care sectors.
- $8.6 million over 4 years from 2023–24 (and $1.5 million per year ongoing) to implement the Australian Skills Guarantee, ensuring one in 10 workers on major Australian Government-funded projects is an apprentice, trainee or paid cadet. The Australian Skills Guarantee will apply from 1 July 2024 to projects with contracts valued at $10.0 million or more in the construction and information and communications technology sectors and will include sub-targets for women. More ambitious targets will be set for flagship construction projects with contracts valued at $100.0 million or more. For information and communications technology projects, initial targets for apprentices, trainees, paid cadets, and the targets for women will be negotiated with suppliers on a project-by-project basis, with targets based on workforce information provided during the tender process.
- Additional funding of $54.3 million over five years, from 2022–23, to introduce a new non-financial support model for Australian Apprenticeships from 1 July 2024. The model will redesign and refocus key support services currently delivered by the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network to increase apprenticeship completion rates and the diversity of the apprentice workforce. Grant funding of $5.0 million over 3 years from 2024–25 will be provided to organisations with appropriate expertise in supporting women in the workplace, to further support women in historically male dominated trade apprenticeships. This will include providing education, advice or support to increase culturally safe and inclusive workplaces, reduce the cultural barriers to women’s participation, address workplace challenges and support businesses to attract and retain women. The new model will also provide support to women who commence their non-traditional trade apprenticeships prior to 1 July 2024 during their transition to new service arrangements.
- A redesigned Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) foundation skills (literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy) $436.4 million over four years, program with an expanded eligibility to those who are not registered job seekers, and a specific focus on First Nations people with place-based, whole of community projects designed to meet community language, literacy, numeracy, and digital needs, and delivered through First Nations organisations in partnership with TAFEs and other Registered Training Organisations, or Adult and Community Education sector providers.
- The Government will grant an extra two years of post-study work rights to international higher education graduates of Australian institutions with eligible qualifications to strengthen the pipeline of skilled labour. This measure will apply from 1 July 2023. The work hour cap for international student visa holders will be reinstated from 1 July 2023, following its removal during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be increased by 8 hours from pre-pandemic levels to 48 hours per fortnight. International students working in the aged care sector will be exempt from the 48 hour per fortnight work limit until 31 December 2023.
The Federal Budget also provides continued funding for several initiatives like:
There are several industry specific measures that are also included in the budget papers, mostly relating to the construction and defence industries, like:
- $127.3 million over four years, from 2023–24, for 4,000 additional commencing Commonwealth supported places at universities and other higher education providers for courses that support the skills requirements of the nuclear-powered submarine program, including STEM and management disciplines. Of these places, at least 800 will be allocated to South Australian universities with the remainder to be allocated through a competitive process.
- $5 million over two years, from 2023–24, for the development and delivery of skills, education and training initiatives for the nuclear-powered submarine program.
- $11.4 million over three years, from 2023–24, to extend the Defence Industry Pathways Program within the Western Australian shipbuilding sector. The Program provides 12-month skills development opportunities through which participants gain an understanding of defence industry and obtain a nationally accredited Certificate III qualification.
- $4.4 million over four years, from 2023–24 (and $1.1 million per year ongoing), to establish the National Construction Industry Forum including representatives from key employer groups, unions and government to provide advice on major challenges facing the building and construction industry including workplace relations, industry culture, skills and training, safety, gender equality and productivity.
There are also several lapsing programs like the Accelerating Australian Apprenticeships Pilot and the Career Revive program.
Several fact sheets have been developed by the Federal Government on some of the measures that appear in the Budget including:
If you would like more information about some of these Budget measures, please contact the Ai Group Centre for Education and Training via CET@aigroup.com.au.
