New Zealand has been through a challenging few years, and during these tough times, job security and being able to provide for our families have become ever more important.
One of National’s four priorities for this term is building a more competitive and productive economy, which is why we have put a focus on creating more and higher paying jobs for New Zealanders.
The economy is growing again, and businesses are beginning to regain the confidence to invest.
Increasing employment
Meaningful jobs that will support families in communities such as our own are being created. Over the past month, 5230 people have left the unemployment benefit to move into work.
Businesses depend on several key areas for growth including infrastructure, innovation and skilled and safe workplaces. Our National-led Government understands this, and hence we are making it easier for businesses to access these key areas under the Government’s Business Growth Agenda.
In order to increase our productivity, we need to lift skill levels at work places, which mean providing opportunities for our young people to learn and acquire the skills they need.
Apprentice Scheme
We have extended the Modern Apprenticeship scheme to all apprentices, regardless of age, and improved support for apprentices in industry training. We are giving our youth opportunities to advance to higher levels of education.
We have introduced a new starting-out wage that will help young people enter the work force. We have also created 3000 more places under the Youth Guarantee Programme. We have introduced a 90-day trial period for new employees, creating more than 13,000 jobs.
We rolled out a $152 million Youth Opportunities package which included 12,000 places in Job Ops, 5000 places in Community Max and 1970 places in the Limited Service Volunteers Programme.
Recently, we introduced a $62 million Job Streams package, including Flexi-Wage, which provides flexible wage subsidies up to a maximum of $21,060 a year for training, mentoring or in-work support, and Skills for Industry, which provides subsidies of up to $7000 a person for short, job-focused training for specific employment opportunities.
Right settings
By putting the right settings in place, we can give businesses the confidence they need to grow and invest in their workforce.
We are encouraging growth that is sustainable, built on higher savings and earnings rather than consumption and debt, and which will build a more competitive and productive economy.
Dr Cam Calder is Member of Parliament on National List at the Manurewa (Auckland) Constituency. The above article is exclusive to Indian Newslink.
