“The announcement by Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas to reform the Back to Work Scheme recognises the urgency of supporting business to increase their skilled workforce and to create jobs for youth, long-term unemployed and retrenched workers,” said Radley de Silva, CEO of Master Builders Association of Victoria.

On 19 October the government announced a range of reforms to stimulate skills and jobs.

The relief that businesses receive for hiring eligible Back to Work persons (such as young people, long-term unemployed and retrenched workers) will increase from $750-2000 to $5000-12000. Extra payments of $2000-4000 will be provided to employers that provide accredited training to new employees in these eligible categories.

In addition, Back to Work participants will be encouraged to take training courses by being offered full or partial fee relief and VTG exemptions.

“It is pleasing that businesses will have more incentive to hire and upskill people who need assistance and that Back to Work participants will be encouraged to pursue new skills and will face fewer costs in doing so,” said Mr de Silva.

“Our industry wants to see our politicians take action to boost skills and create jobs in building and construction. We support the move to provide incentives for upskilling the workforce through training programs,” Mr de Silva said.

“A range of actions should be looked at to stimulate the number of skilled workers in the construction sector, including not only support for employers and employees but also training providers.

The Labor government announced $50 million additional funding for TAFEs to provide more apprenticeships and traineeships.

“This is a good first step as it is important to encourage apprenticeships and traineeships to meet labour shortages. We look forward to working with government to ensure that industry RTOs are also supported to provide these skills in the building and construction sector.

“As the second-largest full-time employer in this state, and with a booming residential demand, it is essential that there are skilled workers to fill the needs of the building and construction industry in Victoria.

“With the Melbourne population expected to grow to 7.7 million by 2051, more dwellings and infrastructure will be needed, boosting the demand for carpenters and bricklayers and other jobs in our sector. We must train people in these skills to meet the demand.

“More also needs to be done to develop the career paths in the building and construction sector – including by ensuring that there is a qualification and registration process to encourage quality and professionalism in the industry.

“The glaring lack of trades registration is the cause of many problems in the Victorian construction industry, including low quality work and greater potential for problems associated with the use of non-conforming products. It also devalues the skills of tradespeople and results in reduced completion of apprenticeships and training in the sector.

“It is imperative that we introduce mandatory trades registration into Victoria. There are nearly 40,000 registered tradespeople in NSW and almost 50,000 in QLD, but only 2,000 in Victoria.

“Without similar trades registration in our state, building and construction trades lose their professional appeal as a career path and there is less incentive for apprentices to complete their training.

“Today’s announcement is a welcome step in the right direction, but we also urge further reforms and incentives for a broad range of employers, employees and training providers to boost much needed skills and jobs in our sector,” Mr de Silva said.