Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced the start of stage three of the rollout of the National Broadband Network - creating up to 800 new jobs.
The stage three rollout will extend to a further 90,000 homes and businesses in Burnie, Devonport, Launceston and Hobart, employing around 800 workers at its peak.
By June next year, the NBN will be rolling out across 12 sites in Tasmania with each site employing around 40 workers.
At the peak of activity in 2015, there will be 20 sites under construction with 800 Tasmanians working on the massive infrastructure project.
The Prime Minister also announced today that from Tuesday, Tasmanian businesses can apply for grants under an $8 million Tasmanian Innovation and Investment Fund to help them create long term, sustainable jobs.
The fund is part of the $120 million package recently announced to support regional development projects under the Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement.
The fund is a vital part of the economic package to improve the diversification and breadth of Tasmania's economy.
In particular, it will assist areas affected by the restructure of the forestry sector with innovative and ongoing job creation projects.
The Gillard Government has invested more than $100 million in skills training and job services in Tasmania in the past year, providing greater opportunities for Tasmanians to up-skill and re-train.
To celebrate the inaugural National Skills Week, the Prime Minister and Member for Franklin, Julie Collins today met apprentices training for a new career at the Skills Institute in Hobart.
They were joined by Australian Apprentice of the Year, Hobart electrician Jason Bryan.
The apprentices will meet the growing demand for skilled workers in the renewable and sustainable energy and sectors and for the NBN.
NBN Co is working with Government employment and training agencies to develop a coordinated approach to build a trained labour pool for the NBN rollout.
Around 50 per cent of the new NBN jobs will require semi-skilled labour, meaning unemployed or displaced workers could be quickly prepared to undertake these tasks.
A further 30 per cent of the new NBN workforce will be cablers who will require a Certificate 3 accreditation, which can be achieved with 18 months of training, including time on the job.
The rollout of the NBN will have a significant impact on the Tasmanian economy with the new jobs and opportunities for businesses to provide additional supplies, transport and other services.
Record numbers of Tasmanians are seizing the opportunity to get training and formal qualifications for the skilled jobs emerging in the economy, including more than 12,000 apprentices and trainees.
These students are among a record number of nearly 47,000 Tasmanians studying to gain formal qualifications through Vocational Education and Training.
The Gillard Labor Government will host the Future Jobs Forum this week, attended by industry and union leaders.
All parties will work together at the forum, exploring practical and innovative measures to create the jobs of the future.