Source: New Zealand Government
Over 500 apprentices and cadets have been placed into work across New Zealand thanks to the Government’s booming build programme, that’s both constructing public houses, and maintaining older homes.
Housing Minister Megan Woods announced the milestone today at a public housing construction site in Riccarton, Christchurch.
“This Government’s investment in apprenticeships is about creating jobs and opportunities for young people, stimulating local economies and creating an ongoing pipeline of work that will help build the huge number of homes we need and stimulate the economy as we continue to recover from COVID 19,” says Megan Woods.
“This fantastic milestone represents hundreds more builders, carpenters, electricians, painters, drain layers, and scaffolders, who are part of ‘Team Housing.’ Together they are building more public housing or upgrading and maintaining the nearly 70,000 public houses across New Zealand.
“This is not just a win for the hundreds of people who are learning a wide range of new skills and trades on the tools, it is also a win for the wider construction sector that needs these women and men to help meet the requirements of the booming residential housing sector.
The apprentices and cadets were placed into jobs with Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities build and maintenance partners over the past two years.
Notes to Editor:
Kāinga Ora has two initiatives assisting New Zealanders into trades careers:
- Through its cadet and apprenticeship programme, Kāinga Ora works with training and pastoral care providers, build partners, and sub-contractors to help budding tradespeople into apprenticeships. Through this programme, apprentices also receive a $1,500 toolkit grant. Employers of Kāinga Ora apprentices are eligible for the Government’s Apprenticeship Boost subsidy of up to $12,000 for first year apprentices and $6,000 for second year apprentices. To date, 225 apprentices and cadets have been through the programme.
The Kāinga Ora programme is one part of the Government’s broader approach to supporting more people into trades and through the Targeted Training and Apprentices Fund.
The latest data shows over 170,000 people have taken advantage of free trades training since the Government introduced the Targeted Training and Apprentices Fund in July 2020. Of this, 32% are enrolled in construction-related programmes, including apprentices.
2. Through trades employed by Te Mahi Ngātahi Maintenance Partners, job opportunities and training are provided for apprentices who are learning valuable trade skills while maintaining state homes. To date, 300 apprentices and cadets have been through this programme.
