Solar training in Australia got a boost when it was announced that from 1 January 2010, the Rudd Government has mandated that Australian Apprentices training programs will include mandatory green skills as part of their training.
These skills are being introduced to the workplace to tackle climate change and Australia’s apprentices are embracing the skills needed for a greener economy.
The Aussie Government is presenting a National Green Skills Agreement to the COAG meeting next month that will:
1. Guidelines will be set for national standards of green practice and teaching in vocational education and training.
2. Existing solar training will be updated.
3. More help will be given to assist VET instructors and teachers to learn new green skills to pass on to their students.
4. A program designed to help vulnerable workers to develop new green skills such as solar training.
The Government announced in July 50,000 new green jobs and solar training opportunities to build a stronger and greener Australian economy.
This massive $94 million investment in Australia’s green future will help support local jobs and communities being hit by the local consequence of a recent global recession.
The Australian Government is also providing $5 billion over four years to support Australian Apprenticeships and related programs, and has invested an additional $250 million to support apprentices during the global recession.
These initiatives will support young Australians entering traditional trades this summer, and supplement them with green skills, to ensure Australia continues to recruit and train apprentices in traditional trades and meet the potential skills shortage head on. The solar industry will be a major benefactor of this as solar training will be top of the agenda.
Apprentice Kickstart, announced last month, will more than triple the first-year incentive paid to young employers who this summer take on apprentices in traditional trades experiencing skill shortages.
The package will be available to employers who take on an eligible traditional trades apprentice aged 19 years and under between 1 December 2009 and 28 February 2010, or until a total of 21 000 apprentices have commenced in traditional trades hardest hit by skills shortages.
For more information on the Apprentice Kickstart package, visit http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/Australian_Apprentice/Kickstart.asp
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