Call for work scheme to be universal

WELLINGTON: The new Mana in Mahi scheme aimed at getting thousands of young beneficiaries into work is being criticised for not going far enough to fix New Zealand’s labour skill shortage.

The income equivalent of the person’s benefit will be paid to the employer, who is expected to top that up to at least the minimum wage.

Industry Training Federation chief executive Josh Williams told RNZ the scheme was a really good start but it should be universal.

‘‘We think the employers of all new apprentices require support.

‘‘People that have new careers have patchier work histories and at a time unemployment is low, we do know that there are people who have a few rough edges that need a bit of help.’’

He said people who went straight into employment, as opposed to university, should be subsidised for the first year.

‘‘We need to pay the teachers; why on earth don’t we pay the employers who train up the workforce?’’ he said.

‘‘The only difference between an apprentice and a university student is that one’s paying tax and and not drawing down student support.’’

Mr Williams said there were 12,000 new apprentices last year and covering the first year of their training would cost the same as for a tertiary student, $100 million.

‘‘It’s money that we would either be paying to benefits or we would be paying through the tertiary education budget, so in the end why wouldn’t we put that same money into upskilling the workforce at a time like now?’’

He said 25,000 employers were involved in industry training and apprenticeships.

‘‘We would like that number to grow, because in the end society wins and the economy wins if we get people into productive employment. Otherwise, we pay in the long run, in other ways,’’ he said.

‘‘The trick with apprentices is that they’ve been turning lives around for centuries.

‘‘In the end, we can have 73,000 NEETs (not in education, employment or training) or we can put people in working futures.’’

Downer NZ human resources general manager Debbie Kirby told RNZ Downer had been doing something similar for several years and already had a partnership with MSD.

‘‘It’s been a real winwin for Downer and for the Government because we need loyal, committed, supported employees and they need people to have jobs.’’

She said Downer was extending the scheme to its subcontractors and partners.

‘‘There is a skill shortage, particularly in the construction industry, and so we need to be doing things differently.’’

❛ It’s money that we would either be paying to benefits or we would be paying through the

tertiary education budget, so in the end why wouldn’t we put that same money into upskilling the workforce

at a time like now?