Major win for apprentices and trainees as government announces it will pay HALF their salary for one year under $1.2 billion scheme to create 100,000 new jobs and pull Australia out of its first recession since the 1990s
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has unveiled a scheme to pay half the salary of trainees in any industry for a year to employ 100,000 new workers.
The Prime Minister announced the new apprenticeship funding ahead of Budget 2020 on Tuesday, which has been flagged as a 'jobs budget' to drive the country out of its first recession since the 1990s.
The plan is expected to cost $1.2 billion and starts on Monday.
Thousands of apprentices lost their jobs in the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. The new scheme will give jobs to 100,000 new and re-hired apprentices in any industry (stock photo)
Employment fell dramatically due to coronavirus lockdowns. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a plan to hire 100,000 apprentices to 'get young people working again'.
It is likely the biggest single investment in a trainee commencement program to date as the Federal Government tries to lift Australia out of mass unemployment, which was sparked by the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
Thousands of apprentices and trainees lost their jobs, particularly in the hospitality sector, when the pandemic restrictions hit.
Under the scheme, any business regardless of their size or industry can get a 50 per cent wage subsidy for any new or re-commencing apprentice or trainee they hire.
The subsidy applies for apprentices hired from Monday until the Government's cap of 100,000 is reached.
The subsidy is worth up to $7,000 a quarter and will last until September 30, 2021.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday that 760,000 jobs had already come back to the economy but he wanted to continue recovering what had been lost, and get young people into work.
'Whether it's the manufacturing, housing and construction, arts or mining sectors – this new wage subsidy gives businesses certainty to hire and provides a career path to aspiring, young tradies,' he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison working on his pre-Budget address on September 30. Budget 2020 has been flagged as a 'jobs budget' to pull Australia out of coronavirus recession
Manufacturing will also benefit under Tuesday's Budget with a $1.3 billion grants program in six priority areas including medical products and resources technology to reduce Australia's dependence on fragile global supply chains
Australian Hotels Association chief executive officer Stephen Ferguson said the food service industry had 11,290 apprentices but needed thousands of new chefs over the next few years.
'This will be a massive benefit to us, whether it be for a junior apprentice or mature age worker wanting to re-skill, especially as the industry is projecting a need for 16,800 chefs over the next five years,' he told the Daily Telegraph.
Australia's official numbers of unemployed people rose above the one million mark for the first time in August due to the pandemic.
Australia's 6.8 per cent official unemployment rate is deceptively low as the Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures classify someone as employed if they work at least one hour a week.
National Australia Bank chief economist Alan Oster said last month that about 18 per cent of the workforce either doesn't have a job or wants more hours.
The Federal Government had been due to deliver Budget 2020 on May 12, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Treasurer Josh Frydenerg will instead hand down the Budget on Tuesday, and it has been billed as the 'most important Budget since World War II' due to the coronavirus shock.
The Government is expected to pump $140 billion in stimulus through the economy over four years.
Australia's budget deficit is estimated to hit $200 billion with more than $800 billion in public debt.
Housing construction (stock image) benefited from mass migration boosting demand for new builds, which came to an end with the pandemic. A new boost was announced Saturday: an expansion of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme so people can buy with a 5 per cent deposit
Economist Steve Keen said earlier this year that the public debt is relatively low by international standards, but is dwarfed by the enormous level of private debt, which is more than six times higher and driven by massive mortgages - and would weigh on the recovery.
The high cost of housing was driven in part by record levels of migration in the last two decades.
Budget 2020 comes as the coronavirus pandemic ended the mass migration, giving Australia its first year of net negative migration since 1946, with more people leaving than being born or arriving.
Treasurer Frydenberg said he wanted to return to mass migration.
'It's in Australia's interest to maintain a strong immigration program across a range of areas — skilled migration, family, reunion and humanitarian,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Although migration creates demand for housing construction and education boosting some jobs, it increases competition for other jobs which are now scarce, depresses wages and puts additional pressure on expensive public infrastructure and services.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, net overseas migration had been forecast to hit 271,300 this calendar year and 267,600 next year.
The construction sector which benefits most from migration will receive a further boost in Tuesday's Budget in the form of first-home buyer incentives creating demand for newly built homes.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he wants a return to mass migration which will boost demand for education and housing construction but increases competition for other jobs (stock image)
On Saturday, the Federal Government announced that it would expand its First Home Loan Deposit Scheme by 10,000 places.
The scheme allows first home buyers to buy a home with only 5 per cent deposit instead of the 20 per cent deposit needed to avoid spending thousands on lenders' mortgage insurance.
The government instead goes guarantor for the remaining 15 per cent of the deposit for eligible borrowers.
Other industries that will benefit from Tuesday's Budget include manufacturing which is expected to get $1.5 billion.
Part of the boost is a $1.3 billion grants program in six priority areas including medical products and resources technology.
It is an attempt to increase national self-sufficiency after the coronavirus supply-chain shock revealed Australia's vulnerable dependence on global suppliers.
BUDGET 2020 KEY FACTS
The Federal Government had been due to deliver Budget 2020 on May 12, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will hand down 'the most important Budget since World War II' on Tuesday. Here's what you need to know:
THE BIG PICTURE
* Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg say it will be a "jobs budget" with the aim of driving the recovery out of the first recession since the 1990s
* Estimated budget deficit of $200 billion
* Debt edging upwards of $800 billion
* Expected $140 billion in stimulus over four years
INFRASTRUCTURE
* Funding to expand two NSW dams, Wyangala and Dungowan
* $53 million funding for gas infrastructure as part of a national plan
* $211 million for domestic fuel security facilities
* More flexible rules for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to invest
HIP-POCKETS
* Possible bringing forward of personal tax cuts due to start in 2022
* 2.5 million pensioners to get extra help to make up for an inflation-related rise not going ahead
* HomeBuilder package likely to be extended
* No changes to the JobSeeker dole payments. Government wants more data on economic conditions before deciding.
BUSINESS
* $112 million in fringe benefits tax changes to ease burden on small business
* Consideration of a business investment allowance
* Wage incentive for small and medium-sized businesses to take on new workers
* $1.5 billion manufacturing strategy
* $800 million aimed at helping individuals and businesses work online
* $53 million funding for television and film production and new content rules
* Possible rule changes around "loss carry-back" for businesses
HEALTH
* Extension of telehealth and e-prescription services
* Extra funding for aged care, ahead of the receipt of the royal commission report
* New strategy to get young people out of residential aged care
* $9 million for research into cancer in children and young adults
REGIONS
* $100 million for new Regional Recovery Partnerships (projects in areas hit by drought, bushfires and coronavirus)
* $30 million for the Regional Connectivity Program (local telecommunications projects)
* $50 million Regional Tourism Recovery initiative (assist businesses in regions heavily reliant on international tourism)
* $200 million for an additional round of the Building Better Regions Fund
* $50 million extra in rebates for farmers seeking to put in bores and dams
EDUCATION
* Extra $326 million to provide 12,000 more university places for domestic students
WELFARE
* $7.6 million for parents experiencing stillborn babies or the death of a child under 12 months of age
* 700 new safe places for women and children escaping domestic violence under $60 million "safe places" initiative
ENVIRONMENT
* $61.7 million for nature-based tourism.
Source: AAP
