28 September 2004

Unions Support Skill Investment Package

The funding increase for modern apprenticeships and industry training would help to tackle the critical skill shortage but needed to be on-going to ensure sustainable economic growth, Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

The CTU supported the Government announcement today of funding for an additional one thousand modern apprenticeships and a lift of $5 million for industry training.

“There is widespread acknowledgement of chronic under-investment in the 1990s in industry training and this has resulted in employers today crying out for skilled labour,” Carol Beaumont said. “The CTU has been a consistent advocate of increased funding for modern apprenticeships and overall industry training.”

There would need to be ongoing increases in budget allocations for industry training if New Zealand was to meet the needs of a high-wage, high-skill economy, she said.

The CTU and Business NZ have joined forces with the Government in a tripartite organisation, skillnz, to promote participation in industry training.

ENDS

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