***Media release***

30 June 2011

Call for Urgent Boost to Federal Government Apprenticeship Incentive for Employers

Australian Brick & Blocklaying Training Foundation (ABBTF) has called on the Federal Government to urgently boost the $4,000 incentive paid to employers for taking on apprentices.

According to Geoff Noble, ABBTF's general manager, the $4,000 incentive has been in place since the 1990s which means it has been devalued due to inflationary pressures.

"The recent Federal Budget cited the need for increased investment to address the skill shortage. We believe this is particularly relevant with housing starts expected to drop considerably in the next 12 months.

"Many tradespeople will be struggling to keep their businesses going and ABBTF expects pressure on employers to keep their apprentices. The Federal Government and the construction industry need to consider apprenticeship recruitment, training and retention as a long term investment.

"A low intake of apprentices now, will mean lower completion rates in three or four years time leading to serious shortages of qualified tradespeople. It will be too late at that stage to correct the problem," said Geoff Noble.

"This is why ABBTF is calling on the Federal Government to boost the incentive for employers to take on apprentices. We congratulate the government for the initiative, introduced earlier this year, which makes a special payment to apprentices for staying in the trade.

"However we now feel it is time to provide a higher incentive for employers to take on new apprentices as an investment in future skills requirements for the construction industry," he added. 

ABBTF is providing its own financial support for employers putting on bricklaying apprentices to supplement Federal Government support. 

Additionally, the organisation conducts special programs in schools to attract school leavers to the trade and strongly promotes bricklaying through careers expos, sponsorship of awards, newsletters and its website and building site visits by ABBTF staff.

"We need urgent Federal Government action on the apprenticeship incentive for employers as young people are our future".

For more information about a career in bricklaying you can visit www.becomeabricklayer.com.au or phone 1300 66 44 96. 

Enquiries
Geoff Noble, ABBTF General Manager, is available for interview and can be contacted on 0418 388 774.