Page 14 - Climate Control News April 2020

In Focus
Billion dollar subsidy to protect apprentices, trainees cant challenges posed by the spread of the
wage subsidy the apprentice or trainee must have been in-training with a small business as at March 1, 2020.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Australia is approaching this economic challenge from a position of strength with IMF and the OECD both forecasting Australia to grow faster than comparable countries including the UK, Canada, Japan, Germany and France.
The Labor Opposition has criticised the pack- age describing it as a “desperate, one off, short- term sugar hit”.
Labor’s shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said it isn’t a comprehensive plan just an ad- mission of failure.
ABOVE: Employers can get a subsidy of 50 per cent of the trainee’s wage for up to nine months.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS COMMITTED $1.3 BILLION TO PROTECT APPRENTICES DURING THE COVID-19 VIRUS OUTBREAK.
THE FUNDS WILL support the jobs of around 120,000 apprentices and trainees. Eligible em- ployers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage for up to 9 months.
Subsidies are currently available through to September 30, 2020.
The funds are part of a $17.6 billion stimu- lus package to provide a boost to the Austral- ian economy as the world deals with signifi-
coronavirus.
Announcing the package, Prime Minister,
Scott Morrison, said the economy needs tempo- rary help so the livelihoods of all Australians are protected.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Michaelia Cash, said the $1.3 billion measure will ensure up to 70,000 small businesses can keep their apprentices working.
“We want them to keep learning, keep getting those essential skills that our economy needs to keep business turning over, not just now, but well into the future,” she said.
The new measure is in addition to existing ap- prenticeship incentives under the Australian Ap- prenticeships Incentives Program.
Businesses can register to be assessed for eli- gibility from April 2, 2020. To be eligible for the
New training for fire and smoke control systems
THE ELECTROTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY
Reference Committee (IRC) has released its an- nual update on trends that will impact the train- ing and skills development of refrigeration and air conditioning technicians.
The report is used to identify the skill needs of industry and propose future training courses.
Consultation is still underway but the final 2020 Skills Forecast and Industry Outlook report will be submitted to the Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) on April 30, 2020.
Trends included in the report include Internet of Things (IoT) with connected devices predicted to grow from the current 25 billion to 75 billion in 2025.
Renewable energy technologies and natural refrigerants will have a significant impact on the industry. In fact renewable technologies are pro- jected to create 60,000 jobs in the next decade. At
the same time technicians will need to develop skills to work with more flammable refrigerants and ensure they have adequate safety training in the operation, installation and maintenance of these updated systems. Interestingly, enrol- ments in electrotechnology courses have de- clined in most states and territories.
The largest decline overall has been in South Australia where enrolments dropped 22.5% low- er than they were in 2015.
A new unit of competency in development for technicians will address air handling require- ments for fire and smoke control including main- tenance of essential services, relevant standards and regulations, fire dampers, certification, test- ing and commissioning.
“This project will ensure technicians licensed under the RAC scheme are capable of undertak-
ing air handling procedures for fire and smoke control systems within Australian industry through a nationally endorsed unit of competen- cy and skill set,” the report said.
This project will begin in July 2020 and con- tinue through to March 2021 with a submission ready to be finalised in July 2021.
CLIMATECONTROLNEWS.COM.AU
WHAT’S NEXT FOR NEXTGEN?
The search continues for our next generation of refrigeration and air conditioning technicians under 25 years of age. For those apprentices in Australia that have already nominated for NextGen I want to extend a special thanks. For those who don’t know about NextGen, this initiative was created earlier this year to address the critical skills shortage in our industry.
This grass roots initiative is a partnership between CCN, WorldSkills Australia and our major sponsor, Daikin Australia. We want to promote trade excellence by showcasing our Top 20 technicians under 25 years of age at a special event to be held in Sydney on Friday, August 28, 2020. To nominate visit www.climatecontrolnews.com.au/nextgen
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