6,000 more jobs for young people over four years
The Premier announced on 17 February 2009 an increase of 1,000 additional publicly funded apprentices and trainees per year for the next four years. Some of the new apprentices will be directly employed, while others will work on government funded construction projects.
The extra 1,000 commencements each year from 2009 to 2012 will be in addition to current baseline figures of directly employed apprentices and the current number of apprentices through construction procurement in 2008.
Employment of apprentices on government construction projects is covered by the NSW Training Management Guidelines, which aim to promote good training practice among contractors applying for Government building, engineering and civil construction projects.
The boost to apprenticeships supports the NSW Government’s infrastructure growth plans by creating an adequately skilled workforce in the construction and civil engineering industries.
Together with the tripling of NSW government apprentices, the Premier announced a new NSW Government cadetship program which provides 500 entry level positions within the NSW public sector for school leavers every year over the four year period.