Apprenticeships and traineeships

Managing the Skilling Australians Fund - revised implementation arrangements

The 2017-18 Budget measure 'Skilling Australians Fund' provided $1.5 billion over four years from 2017-18 to establish a permanent Skilling Australians Fund (the Fund). The Fund will prioritise apprenticeships and traineeships for occupations in high demand, occupations with a reliance on skilled migration pathways, industries and sectors of future growth, trade apprenticeships, and apprenticeships and traineeships in regional and rural areas. The Fund, when matched with funding from the States, will support up to 300 000 more apprentices, trainees, and higher level skilled Australians over the next four years. The 2017-18 measure included $261.2 million in 2017-18 which was in addition to the revenue generated from the training fund contribution levy to be applied under the temporary and permanent employer sponsored migration programs (2017-18 Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 89).

The 'Managing the Skilling Australians Fund - revised implementation arrangements' measure allocates $250 million in 2017-18. In the absence of levy revenue from the Skilling Australians Fund levy (SAF levy) in 2017-18, the Government has revised the implementation arrangements of the Fund to align to the expected levy arrangements. State and Territory governments will be offered a new agreement which is estimated to provide $1.2 billion over the four years to 30 June 2022. This is based on current SAF levy revenue estimates plus total additional funding of $50 million per year over the four years from 2018-19, on a per capita basis, to provide certainty to the States and Territories and support apprentices and trainees (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 90).

Employment

More Choices for a Longer Life Package

The 'More Choices for a Longer Life' package for mature age Australians was announced with $189.7 million funding over five years from 2017-18. It includes:

• $1.1 million in 2018-19 to restructure the Employment Fund, expanding access to the $10 000 Restart wage subsidy to encourage more businesses to hire and retain mature age workers.
• $19.3 million over three years from 2018-19 for training funding of up to $2000 for workers aged 45 to 70 years to take up reskilling or upskilling opportunities, with the Government contribution to be matched by either the worker or their current employer.
• $17.4 million over four years from 2018-19 to establish the Skills Checkpoint for Older Workers program, which will support employees aged 45-70 to remain in the workforce. From 1 September 2018, 5000 employees each year would be entitled to receive customised career advice on transitioning into new roles, or their pathways to a new career, including referrals to relevant training options.
• $15.2 million over three years for Job Change to provide support for mature age workers who are considering early retirement or who are retrenched to transition into roles in growth industries.
• Bringing forward the rollout of the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) by one year to 1 July 2019. The CTAP will provide job seekers 45 years and over with a voluntary, intensive course consisting of an assessment of skills, suitable occupations, resilience strategies and digital skills (Jobs and skills fact sheet; Budget paper no. 1: Budget strategy and outlook, p. 1-24; Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, pp. 91 and 157).

Industry

Australian Agriculture and Export Growth Plan - seasonal agriculture labour demand and supply

$4.7 million is allocated over four years from 2018-19 (and $1 million per year ongoing from 2022-23) to improve the collection of agricultural labour force data to better understand the skills and labour gaps that farm businesses face (Stronger growth to create more jobs, p. 28; Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 74).

National Agreements

Total payments to the states and territories for skills and workforce development are estimated at $1.81 billion in 2018-19, comprising:

• National Skills and Workforce Development Specific Purposes Payment (SPP): $1.517 billion
• National Partnerships: $293 million (Budget paper no. 3: Federal Financial Relations, p. 34).

National Skills and Workforce Development SPP

The National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development identifies the long-term objectives of the Commonwealth and the States in the areas of skills and workforce development. The Agreement seeks to deliver a vocational education and training (VET) system with improved quality and greater transparency for students, employers and governments, greater access to training opportunities, improved outcomes for disadvantaged students, and greater efficiency. It also aims to achieve a more demand-driven and client-focused system, and to drive the next wave of innovation and productivity. The National Skills and Workforce Development SPP is the funding associated with Agreement.

The allocations to the states and territories for 2018-19 are: New South Wales $485.2 million, Victoria $393.6 million, Queensland $303.7 million, Western Australia $157.7 million, South Australia $104.9 million, Tasmania $31.7 million, Australian Capital Territory $25.3 million, and Northern Territory $14.8 million (Budget paper no. 3: Federal Financial Relations, p. 34).

National Partnerships – Skilling Australians Fund

The National Partnership on the Skilling Australians Fund will support the training of Australians through a range of projects focused on skills priorities. These include training in occupations in high demand that currently rely on skilled migration, future growth industries, and rural and regional areas. There will also be a strong focus on apprenticeships and traineeships.

From 2018-19, the revised National Partnership will provide States with an annual amount of guaranteed funding and access to a further amount determined by the revenue paid into the Skilling Australians Fund. States' access to the Fund will be dependent on meeting eligibility criteria defined by the Commonwealth, including matching Commonwealth funding, achieving specified outcomes, and providing up-to-date data on performance and spending. This revenue will be drawn from a levy which will be paid by businesses employing foreign workers on certain skilled visas.

The estimated funding to be provided to the states and territories for 2018-19 has yet to be determined (Budget paper no. 3: Federal Financial Relations, pp. 34 and 35).

Regulation

Australian Skills Quality Authority resourcing

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) estimates its total resourcing will be $ 54.290 millon, which includes a departmental appropriation of $36.102 million for the 2018-19 financial year (Portfolio budget statements 2018-19: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 144).

ASQA’s priorities for the year ahead

In 2018-19 ASQA will focus on: addressing the outcomes of the review of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011; progressing the 'Tightening scrutiny on new entrants to the VET market' initiative; developing and releasing the Authority's updated Regulatory Strategy; and undertaking a strategic review into International Education (Portfolio budget statements 2018-19: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 143).

Australian Skills Quality Authority - full cost recovery

Additional funding of $18.6 million over four years from 2018-19 will be provided to assist ASQA to transition to full cost recovery from 2020-21. The move to full cost recovery is estimated to achieve additional revenue of $52.7 million, resulting in a net saving to the Budget of $34.1 million over four years from 2018-19. This measure includes $6.6 million in capital funding over four years from 2018-19 to modernise ASQA's IT systems, which will support enhanced data analytics and information sharing capabilities, streamlined registration processes and improved transparency (Budget overview, p. 18; Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 85).

Training providers and programs

Response to the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education - additional support for students

In response to the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education, the Government is committing $28.2 million for 500 additional Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) annually from 2019 for students commencing a sub-bachelor degree or enabling course in regional areas, and $14.0 million to fund 185 additional places for bachelor students studying at Regional Study Hubs. (Budget overview, p. 25; Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 94)

Unique Student Identifier Initiative - additional funding

The Government will provide an additional $16.5 million over four years from 2018-19 to address ongoing resourcing needs of the Unique Student Identifier (USI) transcript service, including to allow VET students to grant transcript access to authorised employers and licensing bodies. The USI transcript service provides VET students with a secure online record of their nationally recognised training and qualifications gained in Australia. The cost of this measure will be met from within the existing resources of the 'National Training System - Commonwealth Own Purpose Expenses program', consistent with previous funding arrangements agreed with State and Territory governments (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 96).

Additionally, the USI function will move from Canberra to Adelaide, with the relocation to commence in 2019 (Portfolio budget statements 2018-19: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 11).