Have you been thinking about hiring an apprentice for your business? Looking to upskill your employees? Thinking about the ways that you could improve your business’s capabilities?

The recent Federal Budget 2022-23 announcements committed support to mitigate the long-standing impacts of the pandemic on businesses and their workforces. If skill shortages, a lack of workers or even availability of funds have been impacting your business, the following may be of interest to you.

The recent Federal Budget 2022-23 announcements committed support to mitigate the long-standing impacts of the pandemic on businesses and their workforces. If skill shortages, a lack of workers or even availability of funds have been impacting your business, the following may be of interest to you.

Upskilling Workers

Small businesses will also have access to a new 20 per cent bonus deduction for eligible external training courses for upskilling employees. The Skills and Training Boost will apply to expenditure incurred from 31 March 2022 until 30 June 2024, providing $550 million in tax relief.

One thing to ensure is that the training provider of the training for your employees will actually be covered by the Boost.

Apprentices

Under the newly extended and renamed Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Scheme, apprentices will also receive financial incentives for finding employment in a ‘priority’ trade.

Every six months apprentices will receive a payment of $1,250 for two years, up to a total of $5,000 to assist with the costs of undertaking an apprenticeship.

This renewal to the scheme aims to stem the dropout rate of apprentices in priority trades by providing an incentive to see out their training. Though the initial scheme has drawn new apprentices into the system, cancellations and withdrawals remain high.

The Government is also looking to add an additional 2,500 in-training support places for eligible young apprentices over the next five years.

Employers

Employers will receive a wage subsidy of up to $15,000 for each apprentice taken on in a ‘priority’ trade, under a revamped scheme from the government. Under the previously mentioned Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Scheme, from July 1 2022, employers will receive a 10 per cent wage subsidy for first and second-year apprentices and 5 per cent for third years.

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