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Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund
Last week, the Government announced details around the $320m Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund (TTAF), just one part of the $1.6b Trades and Apprenticeships training package recently announced in the 2020 Budget. This is an exciting development, and is very good news for our sectors. Details around a $412m employer subsidy scheme, also part of the $1.6b package, are yet to be released.

Our Chief Executive Jane Wenman, welcomes the announcement.

“The health and wellbeing sectors continue to face workforce shortage challenges, brought about by an ageing and increasingly diverse population, and an associated ageing workforce in many areas. This is being exacerbated by COVID-19 related immigration restrictions. Any Government funding that will support new people into the sector, and remove any barriers to workforce development is welcomed.”

The finer details of how TTAF will work including eligibility criteria are still being finalised. However, we have already started receiving a number of enquiries, so wanted to share with you what we do know to date. We will share further information as it becomes available. In the meantime, this is what we do know.

  • The fund will remove costs for eligible programmes in targeted areas for learners, apprentices and employers, for the next two and a half years through to December 2022. The fund will be targeted towards particular industry skill needs where demand from employers for these skills will continue to be strong, or is expected to grow, during New Zealand’s recovery period from the impacts of COVID-19.

  • Many of our sectors have been included as targeted areas, with “Community support, including youth work, care for elderly, counselling and community health, including mental health and addiction support” specifically highlighted.

  • We have not yet been provided with a list of qualifications that will be eligible, but examples of eligible qualifications within official correspondence have included:
    • All apprenticeships
    • NZC in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3 and Level 4)
    • New Zealand Diploma in Health and Wellbeing (Level 5) Applied Practice

  • From 1 July, any costs for these programmes that would ordinarily have been paid by trainees, apprentices or employers to Careerforce will now be free.

  • While the funding is for the period through to December 2022, the list of eligible qualifications may change over that period, so we cannot assume that the above qualifications will be covered for this entire period.


We will send out more information as it becomes available, and you can go to our website for regular updates. Also, check out the Beehive and TEC websites for further information.

The Careerforce Team

 


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