Minister for Skills John Barilaro is calling on the next generation to consider an apprentice or traineeship as a long-term career option and take advantage of this unprecedented period of investment in NSW.

Mr Barilaro said the NSW Government is delivering the certainty and business confidence that has produced over 250,000 jobs since 2011 and slashed red tape by over $815 million.

“What industry employers need now are more skilled workers placed in jobs to meet their high levels of business confidence,” Mr Barilaro said.

“The students today are not just the tradespeople of tomorrow – they are our future entrepreneurs and our future business leaders.

“Electricians, carpenters and business services are the trades and traineeships the next generation should be thinking about as a career or business venture, as these are the jobs that industry needs to place skilled workers in,” Mr Barilaro said.

Initiatives to encourage more apprentices and trainees include:

• Investing $2.3 billion in vocation education and training, including a $122 million increase for TAFE compared to last year;
• Delivering over 450,000 places for students to become mechanics, electricians, bricklayers;
• Providing the $25 million Jobs of Tomorrow Scholarship fund to deliver 25,000 scholarships for students to complete qualifications in technology;
• Investing $48 million to create 200, 000 fee free scholarships over 4 years; and,
• Giving employers greater flexibility to choose the training organisation they want to deliver apprentices and trainees to support over 47,000 training places