The federal government is being urged to extend its $2.7 billion Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program, which will be closed to new entrants next week.
The program sees employers receive a 50% wage subsidy of up to $7,000 a quarter for first-year apprentices, with the scheme achieving its goal of 100,000 new apprentices less than five months after it commenced in 2020.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) says the scheme should be extended, and warns that Australia’s skills shortage is about to get worse.
