The Government has today announced another subsidy scheme to boost support for workers on apprenticeships.
Historically apprentices have been some of the first workers to be laid off in tough times, due to their lack of breadth of skills and experience, plus the fact they are generally the most recent additions to a firm. To avoid this and invest in future proofing New Zealand's emerging workforce they have promised up to $16,000 per person over the first 2 years of an apprenticeship.
From August 2020 to April 2022, employers can apply for funding of up to $12,000 per apprentice in their first 12 months of training, and up to $6,000 in their second 12 months.
A successful application runs for a maximum of 20 months in total. An employer will be eligible if the apprentice is enrolled in a Level 4 NZ or Managed Apprenticeship programme, and is in the first or second year of this apprenticeship.
In the same way we have seen the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy schemes this scheme is also administered by the MSD and the usual rules apply.