WA first to join Productivity Places Program
Western Australia is set to be the first state that will join the Productivity Places Program, the Federal Government announced last week.
Julia Gillard, the Federal Minister for Education, and Mark McGowan, WA Minister for Education and Training, state that from July to December 2008, Western Australia will pilot an initiative to deliver 1000 new training places in recognised skills shortage areas with more places to be expected next year as part of the broader rollout of the plan.
The Federal and WA state Governments will invest $2 million to provide Western Australian workers with the chance to upgrade their skills and gain higher level qualifications. This collaboration will better match training to industry needs, and provide businesses with hope for tackling the perpetual shortage in skills.
The Australian Government claims to be dedicated to realistically and strategically addressing the country's skills crisis and this recent announcement is an important step in delivering 450,000 new training places over the next four years. These new training places will be targeted to the existing workforce, and will be available at the levels of Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma. Around 80 qualifications will be offered across a range of industries, from metals and mining; building and construction; electro-technology; manufacturing; community services and hospitality and tourism - all which are forever in need of keen and able workers.
The move marks the second phase in the rollout of the Productivity Places Program, with the first 20,000 training places already made available for job-seekers from April this year.
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PRODUCTIVITY PLACES PROGRAM
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