Hon Paula Bennett
Minister for Social Development and Employment
19 May 2011

A $15 million boost for employment assistance programmes in Budget 2011 will help more people into work, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says.

“As we emerge from the recession, it is imperative people are work-ready as jobs become available,” Ms Bennett says. “So we’re continuing to put more funding into employment and training programmes to get Kiwis working.”

The $15 million of extra funding for 2011/12 follows a $12.6 million investment in Budget 2010.

The new funding will go into initiatives including Industry Partnerships, Straight to Work and the skill investment subsidies.

“There is work out there. Work and Income gets 1,500 new jobs on its books every week,” Ms Bennett says.

“These programmes will help people who lack skills and an employment background to prepare for those and other positions.”

Employment assistance will go into:
• Industry partnerships using programmes like Straight to Work. These programmes have a high take-up by Maori and Pacific people. The investment will help form more partnerships with industries with good growth potential such as the tourism, aged care and service industries.
• Skill investment subsidies, which provide an incentive for employers to take on disadvantaged jobseekers by making a temporary contribution to their wages and training to help them access and maintain employment.

ENDS

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