The Western Australian state government has announced further financial incentives to encourage businesses to hire apprentices and trainees.
Included among these measures is the Jobs and Skills WA Adult Apprenticeship Employer Incentive (AAEI), which could see eligible businesses receive up to $26,800 when hiring a new apprentice aged 21 years or over. The AAEI is capped at 100 places in the 2021—22 financial year and 100 places in the 2022—23 financial year.
This scheme aims to encourage businesses to employ more adult apprentices, who can offer maturity and experience but whose wage rates are a little higher than those of a younger apprentice. The subsidy is designed to offset the higher cost of these wages and provide greater opportunities for adult apprentices to increase their skills training.
The Apprenticeship and Traineeship Re-engagement Incentive (ATRI) will also be extended for a further 12 months. This incentive encourages businesses to engage apprentices and trainees whose prior employment ceased before their training could be completed.
Eligible employers can apply to receive a one-off payment of $6,000 to take on a displaced apprentice, or $3,000 per trainee.
These initiatives will help improve skills shortages in WA by increasing the number of apprentices and trainees entering the workforce, while providing support for businesses as they train the next generation of talent.
For more information, please see here.
