Apprentice Kickstart Bonus Helps
Cairn’s Teenagers Get Started In A Career
Media Release — 9 November 2009
The Australian Government’s Kickstart Apprentice Bonus is helping to create places for apprentice in the Cairns region according to Skill360 Australia, the state’s largest not-for-profit Group Training Organisation. Speaking at the launch of the bonus in Cairns, Chief Executive Officer of Skill360 Australia, Troy Williams, said that the timing of the initiative could not have been better for young people looking to get started in an apprenticeship.
“Many local businesses in the Cairns region are doing it tough, but want to make an investment in skills. The additional $3,350 available to employers looking to take on an apprentice has been a deciding factor in making the decision to take on an apprentice,” Mr Williams said.
The Apprentice Kickstart Bonus is an employer incentive designed to counteract the impact of the global recession on commencements and retention of young people in traditional trade apprenticeships. Employers who employ an apprentice who is aged nineteen years and under and is undertaking a Certificate III or IV level qualification that leads to a skills shortage trade occupation. The Apprentice Kickstart Bonus is a total of $3,350 paid in installments of: $850 paid at the three month point of the Australian Apprenticeship; and $2,500 paid at the nine month point of the Australian Apprenticeship. The bonus is available to apprentices commencing between 1 December 2009 and 28 February 2010.
“Skill360 Australia is pleased to be working with local businesses access these incentives. It’s part of what we do to make apprenticeships easy for businesses in Cairns,” Mr Williams said.
The Apprentice Kickstart Bonus initiative was launched in Cairns by the Minister for Employment Participation, Senator Mark Arbib, at Barnacle Bills Seafood Inn on the Cairns Esplanade.
One of Cairns’ leading restaurants, Barnacle Bills Seafood Inn has employed apprentices through Skill360 Australia for at least twenty-three of the past twenty-five years. They are shortly to take on another apprentice and will benefit from the Apprentice Kickstart Bonus.
“This is an extraordinary commitment to training that spans the airline pilot’s strike, the recession of the early 1990s, the SARS driven tourism downturn and the current economic difficulties,” Mr Williams said.
Businesses wanting to take-on an apprentice and access the Apprenticeship Kickstart Bonus are invited to contact Skill360 Australia on 1300 933 358 or visit www.skill360.com.au/kickstart
The Minister will be formally launching the Apprentice Kickstart Bonus at Barnacle Bills Seafood Inn, 103 The Esplanade, Cairns on Monday, 9 November 2009 at 11:45am.
Ends.
Media Contact:
Troy Williams - CEO, Skill360 Australia
t: 1300 933 358 (Intl: +61 7 4046 4000)