A major employer of the next generation of tradies in western NSW says none of its apprentices have lost their jobs since the coronavirus pandemic hit, and the few stood down have lately seen a return to work.
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Skillset reports for its apprentices, trainees and host employers "thankfully the Dubbo region has been quite resilient" despite federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg in June confirming a recession had hit the national economy.
"We have had zero apprentices and trainees lose their jobs," Skillset chief executive officer Craig Randazzo said this week.
"We have had zero apprentices and trainees lose their jobs.
"We have seen a handful of stand downs particularly in those industry sectors like hospitality that have been hit hard during COVID.
"However, very positively since the easing of restrictions we have seen a return to work for those few people who were stood down."
Not every region has shared Dubbo's fate, and on Thursday Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced $2 billion in funding to give "hundreds of thousand of Australians access to new skills by retraining" them for sectors with job opportunities to help in the COVID-19 recovery.
Dubbed JobTrainer, the package also includes an extra $1.5 billion to expand the wage incentive to help keep apprentices in work.
It builds on an initial $1.3 billion package announced in March.
Mr Randazzo said it was clear the intention of the federal government was to keep people in jobs and also stimulate the labour market with new initiatives.
"We anticipate this package would only increase employment and training opportunities throughout the region," he said.
"Dubbo has a vibrant and diverse labour market already with a Western Research Institute Industry, Skills and Opportunity report indicating over the next five years there will be $5.3 billion investment into infrastructure across Dubbo, Narromine and Gilgandra."
The Skillset chief said he could understand school leavers would be "feeling concerned about their job prospects" in the current climate, but offered them some encouragement.
"...The federal and NSW governments seem committed to providing support for all Australians as well as providing industry stimulus to address the current economic impact," Mr Randazzo said.
Faye Wheeler
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
