Emily Henderson: Boosting apprenticeships and our economy

Culham Engineering employs a number of apprentices who get the benefit from learning on a large range of projects.

OPINION

Back in early 2020 when I began election campaigning, I talked with the directors of a Whangārei marine industry business who were very concerned with the shortage of skilled tradespeople, with a big gap left after apprenticeship funding was cut following the GFC.

They struggled to afford to take on apprentices, and when they did the young people sometimes dropped out due to basic issues such as being unable to afford a driver's licence. It was something I was to hear again and again. Employers were weary, kids were distressed, and the whole situation was an obvious loss for Whangārei's economy.

It was about then that the Government introduced the two-year Apprenticeship Boost programme and free trades training to help propel ourselves out of the looming Covid crisis. Over the next 18 months, local employers and young apprentices (and some older ones) constantly told me what a huge difference the programmes were making.

Since then more than 190,000 people have benefitted from our investment in trades training - a 55 per cent increase in the number of apprentices since the start of the pandemic, including a big upswing in the numbers of women trainees.

Building a skilled local workforce delivers better jobs for locals and opportunities for local businesses but it also provides greater long-term economic security, delivering the highly skilled workforce we need to build infrastructure and design the technology needed to future-proof the economy.

That's why in this year's upcoming budget we're extending the Apprenticeship Boost programme another year to the end of 2023. The $230 million investment as part of Budget 2022 provides for another 24,000 new apprentices getting Apprenticeship Boost support while about 14,000 can keep being supported beyond August this year. We already have 17,000 employers involved, and now new employers can join the programme. Alongside apprenticeships, we're also investing more in the successful work-readiness programme, Mana in Mahi, to get more people into the workforce.

Despite the massive global challenges, our economy is one of the most resilient worldwide. We have record low unemployment at 3.2 per cent and economic activity is actually greater than before Covid, in part due to our investment in training. This extension keeps the next generation of skilled workers on track, helping accelerate our economic recovery further.

However, as my early talks with employers told me, many poorer young people's ability to take up training is limited by the expense of getting a driver's licence, especially in rural areas where there are no local testing centres. About 70 per cent of jobs require a licence, cutting these kids out of the market immediately. Others resort to driving unlicensed or on a learner's, accruing unpayable fines which – as police or organisations like the Howard League working with ex-prisoners will tell you - then become an inducement to crime.

Mark Lynd (far left), Howard League patron Cliff Cook, chair Mike Williams, and driver license trainer Amy Clark helped 2000 offenders and ex-prisoners get their driver's license.

So alongside extending apprenticeship support, we are putting $86.5 million into getting about 64,000 Kiwis their licences. A licence is not only key to job opportunities but also provides identification for a bank account or a flat.

Some of us can afford to help our kids with their licences and training, but for other kids it's a much harder road. As a society, the more kids who get that support, the better: a large, skilled workforce makes for a healthy, vibrant economy and a better future for us all. I'm looking forward to meeting the next generation of employers and trainees working towards that future.