Apprentices a priority for Labour
WELLINGTON: Labour will spend $420 million over four years if reelected to make permanent an apprenticeship support scheme introduced during the Covid19 pandemic.
The Apprenticeship Boost scheme pays employers $500 per month for the first two years of an apprenticeship to support training employees.
Introduced as temporary assistance for businesses during the Covid19 pandemic, it had contributed to a 61% increase in the number of apprentices over the last three years.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced the election promise yesterday at the party’s congress in Wellington.
‘‘Training more New Zealanders creates opportunities and good jobs and reduces our reliance on offshore workers to plug skills shortages,’’ he said.
‘‘Immigration remains important, but we shouldn’t have to rely on getting the skills we need from overseas.’’
The period between 2019 and 2022 contained increases in apprentices who were younger, female and Ma¯ori and Pasifika.
Of the 57,000 apprentices supported by the scheme from 2020, about 25,000 had gone into the building sector.
Making the scheme permanent would cost $60 million in 202425 and then $120 million each year for the following three years.
Mr Hipkins said the number of apprentices dropped under National between 2008 and 2011.
On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced that Labour would not be changing the superannuation age — something National and Act New Zealand have campaigned on.
It followed Labour’s attack on National’s policy to raise the super age to 67 that could mean some people would miss out on more than $50,000 — a figure that would be much higher if Act’s policy to cap KiwiSaver subsidies was added.
‘‘We’ve done the maths. If you’re a young person, the ‘‘Coalition of cuts’’ will take more than $98,000 off your retirement,’’ Ms Sepuloni proclaimed to 400 party faithful gathered at Te Papa.
However, Labour’s calculations did not include the savings National and Act say people will receive through tax cuts.
On Saturday, National ‘‘updated’’ the policy to 2044, saying it was sticking to the principle of giving people 20 years to prepare, rather than the 2037 date of the original policy.
Mr Hipkins’ speech yesterday, warmly received by party members, included a laundry list of Labour’s achievements while in Government, including recent policies in Budget 2023 such as the removal of the $5 prescription charge and 20hoursfree early education.
He made references to the Opposition but there were only two mentions of the ‘‘coalition of cuts’’ — a slight departure from the volley of attacks senior Labour members launched at National and Act in their speeches on Saturday.
On Saturday, Labour also committed to continue making contributions to the NZ Super Fund and dishing out the winter energy payment. —