Scheme 'consistency' vital for employers

The Skills For Industry scheme is successful because "the more licences you have, the more employable you become," a Masterton employment broker says.

A Masterton employment broker says subsidised job schemes for the unemployed need to stop changing names so the message gets through to employers.

Leanne Welsh, owner of recruiter BOSS Group in Masterton, said she is familiar with Skills For Industry but not Flexi-Wage.

"Changing the name of the scheme doesn't get the message through. Consistency would probably be helpful. If the rules are always changing, no one knows what's available and people shrug their shoulders and go 'it's too hard'."

That aside, she said Winz work-brokers were "very good" at directly contacting the BOSS Group to put the right candidates into work.

The Skills For Industry scheme is successful because "the more licences you have, the more employable you become."

Ms Welsh said the "wheelers, tracks or rollers" endorsement is particularly valuable, however, this did not guarantee an applicant would be able to handle a job. "Having a ticket is one thing, but often experience is missing."

Another concern is some perpetually unemployable people may remain as the unemployment rate came down.

In the Central region, which covers Kapiti, Horowhenua, Wairarapa, Tararua and the Manawatu, 388 people were put through Work and Income NZ (Winz) Skills For Industry training courses since 2012, official figures show, but only about a third of those people on average ended up in work.

Also, in the region, 1600 people started the Training For Work scheme, leading to just 492 employment cases since 2012.

Employment training schemes funded by Winz to get beneficiaries into work have cost a nationwide total of $50.9 million since 2012 and that's to fund subsidies alone.

In the Central region, $3.85 million has been spent since 2012, paying wage subsidies to employers, covering 1226 employment contracts.

Winz has not measured long-term outcomes of Flexi-Wages or the Skills For Industry programme, but nationwide figures revealed just a 36 per cent employment achievement eight weeks after course completion.

Previous programmes, including Training for Work, also showed a third of participants achieving employment.

The funding cost of Skills For Industry can't be broken down at a regional level. However, $14.3 million was spent nationally in 2012-13 and $12.5 million was spent in 2013-14.

Beneficiaries Advocacy and Information Service manager Karen Pattie - whose Auckland service manages 3000 enquiries a year - said she was aware of some employers who were "getting cheap labour, then flicking them off weeks later".

"If $20 million [annual national wage subsidy cost] has led to long-term employment, you can't argue with that", Ms Pattie said. "But if employers have made a profit off subsidies, is that good spending of taxpayers' money?"
- APNZ