In a bid to increase South Australian housing, the Malinauskas Labor Government has increased their commitment to 30,000 new training places in building and infrastructure courses over the next five years.
It follows this week’s announcement that 1,000 extra training spaces will be available each of those years as part of almost $38 million invested to support more than 7,800 apprentices.
With the Gawler and Barossa regions continuing to grow, State Member for Light and Labor Duty Member for Schubert, Tony Piccolo MP, believes this initiative will pave the way for a surge in home construction and skilled job opportunities in the region.
“These training places are more than just numbers; they represent the homes that will shelter our families and the community spaces where our lives will unfold,” Mr Piccolo said.
“This is designed to drive the local economy forward by equipping students and apprentices with the skills necessary to meet the demands of the industry.”
It is part of the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) Annual Training Plan, which includes increasing funding of short course training programs by 11 per cent to $6.4 million.
Apprentices will also receive $500 work equipment vouchers for essential workwear and tools, the number of supported mature age apprentices will increase from 250 to 300 and industry immersion programs in schools across the State will increase by 32 per cent.
The 2024-25 State Budget provided a record investment in skills funding for South Australians, with the building and construction sector a key component of the state’s economic future.
This includes an additional investment of $692.6 million over five years in the vocational education and training sector to lift the total investment, as part of the National Skills Agreement (NSA), to $2.3 billion with Commonwealth partnership.
Since 2022, more than $40m has been invested invocational courses aligned to Construction and Infrastructure with more than 5,000 people supported to start training.