The federal and state governments offer a variety of incentives for employers who enrol their staff into structured traineeships. To be eligible for traineeships, staff do not need to be unskilled, but they must be "unqualified".
Within the mining, civil and transport industries many staff are experienced but few are qualified to a Certificate II or Certificate III level. Most only have a few tickets and licences. This presents an opportunity for clients to enrol their staff in either a Certificate II or Certificate III in an appropriate discipline.
Incentives and funding for trainees is affected by the date that a worker enrols in a traineeship. Broadly speaking, a staff member who is enrolled in a traineeship within three months of commencing full-time work with an employer is classified as a new worker. Enrolling an employee in a traineeship after they have worked full time with the employer for more than three months leads to the employee being classified as an existing worker.
Both new and existing workers enrolled in a traineeship program become exempt from payroll tax from the day they commence the traineeship until the day they either complete or withdraw from the traineeship, or terminate their employment. New workers have the option of completing either a one-year or two-year traineeship whilst existing workers must complete a two-year traineeship in order to qualify.
Employers also receive commencement incentive payments, and in some cases completion payments, which vary depending on the type of traineeship being undertaken. Broadly speaking, an employer of a trainee completing a one-year, Cert II traineeship can expect to receive a $1,250 commencement incentive payment at the three-month mark of the traineeship. An employer of a trainee completing a two-year, Cert III traineeship would receive a $1,500 commencement payment at the three-month mark and another $2,500 completion payment upon graduation.
If employees are enrolled into a traineeship whilst they are classified as new workers (within three months of employment), the nominated RTO administering the traineeship will receive funding to compensate for costs associated with the delivery of a traineeship. Trainees that are classified as existing workers do not qualify for such funding.
As an example: if 34 mobile plant operators, earning $80,000 pa + super are signed up to a two-year traineeship, the value of incentives available to the employer would be:
| 2 years of payroll-tax exemption (roughly $4,796 per trainee per year): | $326,128 |
| 34 x commencement incentives at 3 months @ $1,500 ea: | $51,000 |
| 3. 20 x completion payments (assuming some attrition) @ $2,500 ea: | $50,000 |
| Total incentives: | $427,128 |
Enrolling staff in a structured traineeship program has many benefits beyond the financial incentives offered. Non-financial benefits include:
- Higher staff retention since staff will be keen to get their qualification.
- Higher morale as a result of the staff acknowledging the investment their employer is making in their career
- Increased productivity and reduced wear and tear due to all operators being trained to best-practice standards.
- The ability to incorporate training units into a traineeship that would have been a required component of day-to-day operations regardless of the traineeship.
Employers and employees also have a great deal of flexibility in regard to what qualifications and units are chosen to form the basis of individual traineeships to ensure that the chosen outcomes match the work pattern of the employee and employer. In this way, units of training should complement the day-to-day operations of the employee and the employer. RMS is highly qualified and skilled in project managing and delivering government-funded traineeship solutions for clients. With our vast scope, experienced trainers and unmatched expertise in the area of training resource development, our clients receive outstanding dedication and results.
The above snapshot is a very broad overview of only some of the opportunities available, and funding and incentives can vary from client to client depending on individual circumstances. Contact RMS to further investigate how a traineeship program could work for your organisation.
