The Australian Government will invest an extra $3.5 million to expand the Australian Apprenticeships Access Program to help vulnerable job seekers find and keep skilled employment.
The program provides at-risk job seekers facing barriers to skilled employment with individualised pre-vocational training and support services to help them gain and retain an Australian Apprenticeship.
This new investment will create 1,850 additional places in 2009-10 to provide training and support for vulnerable workers aged 25 and over made redundant by the global economic recession.
This new commitment is in addition to the $30.2 million announced in March for an additional 3,650 pre-vocational training and support places in 2009-10 for vulnerable young job seekers aged 19-24.
Today's announcement brings the total places available in the Access Program in 2009-10 to 15,000.
These additional places complement the Australian Government's new Compact with Young Australians and its commitment to ensuring that Australia has a properly skilled workforce ready to work as the nation emerges from the global recession.
The Access Program assists job seekers who experience barriers to entering skilled employment to find and keep an Australian Apprenticeship, other employment or further education and training through an intensive package including skill formation, pastoral care, advocacy, job search support and post-placement support for participants and their employers.