Hon Steven Joyce
Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills & Employment
6 March 2013 Media Statement
Early access to Apprenticeships Re-boot

New apprentices will be able to access the Government’s re-boot subsidy towards tools and off-job costs and start training sooner, following an announcement today by Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce.

The ‘Apprenticeships Re-boot’ which was due to start on April 1, will instead commence immediately.

“The feedback we’ve had is that there are new apprentices keen to get in there and start training and employers who are eager to take them on, so rather than wait until April, we have brought the start date of the re-boot subsidy eligibility forward,” Mr Joyce says.

“This means that the first 10,000 new apprentices who enrol from today will be able to get a grant of $1,000 towards their tools and off-job costs, or $2,000 if they are in priority trades. Employers will receive a payment of the same amount for each apprentice they take on.

“There is a big opportunity over the next few years – particularly with the rebuilding of Christchurch – to train more New Zealanders in vocational careers that will set them up well for their working lives. This subsidy is part of our New Zealand Apprenticeship reforms which are creating a simpler, more effective, vocational training system in New Zealand.”

The re-boot subsidy will be payable to:
- New Modern Apprentices at Level 3 and 4 in 2013 only, and
- All industry trainees enrolled in a programme of study at Level 4 of 120 credits or more in 2013 and beyond

Modern Apprentices and industry trainees must be employed and actively training for 90 days before they receive the payment.

By rebooting apprenticeships the Government estimates there will be an additional 14,000 new apprentices starting training over the next five years – over and above the 7000 who normally enrol every year.

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Denniston Announcement: Coal Mine Gains Access Approval

Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith today announced his approval under the Crown Minerals Act for an access agreement for Bathurst Resources for its Escarpment Mining Project on the Denniston Plateau, near Westport.

“This approval is for an open-cast mine on 106 hectares of the 2026 hectares that comprise the Denniston Plateau. This area is not National Park, nor Conservation Park nor does it have any particular reserve status...

“The loss of conservation values is compensated by a $22 million package by Bathurst Resources. This will fund pest and predator control over 25,000 hectares of the Heaphy River catchment in the Kahurangi National Park, 4,500 hectares on and around the Denniston Plateau, as well as for historic projects on the Plateau itself. This is More>>