Victorian programs and initiatives

The $8 million fund supports new approaches to the apprenticeship and traineeship model – with a focus on female participation – undertaken in partnership with industry and unions.

Apprenticeship Support Officers (ASOs) help apprentices – and their employers – get the most out of the apprenticeship system. ASOs are located across Victoria and provide a free and confidential support and advice service.

Head Start is a new and flexible approach to apprenticeships and traineeships for school students that allows them to spend more time doing valuable, paid, on-the-job training while completing VCE, VCE VM or VPC.

Supports the quality of training by trialling independent assessments in a range of Victorian apprenticeships and traineeships.

Includes the Job Ready Pathways Project, designed to build the job-readiness of traditionally under-represented workers from diverse and marginalised backgrounds. Plus Women OnSite, aimed at delivering more opportunities for women in male-dominated trades.

In partnership with the National Fire Industry Association, this project(opens in a new window) aims to recruit 30 female school leavers into the traditionally male-dominated fire protection industry.

The Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce program was designed to increase the number of women commencing apprenticeships in the automotive industry.

Partnering with Swinburne University, the Big Build Higher Apprenticeship Pilot was aimed at mid-level managers in engineering, project planning and surveying. These higher apprentices worked towards a Diploma of Applied Technologies (Civil Construction), combining on-the-job training with formal study.

Participants were nominated by civil construction employers and worked on a major project investigating how transformative digital technologies can be implemented in their workplace to drive efficiencies and return on investment.

Trades Women Australia program(opens in a new window) provided an online platform for women, influencers and employers to raise awareness and connect women with apprentice and trainee job opportunities.

As Australia’s fastest-growing jobs sector, the social services have a vital role to play in Victoria’s economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Higher Apprenticeships and Traineeships Social Services Extension Project (HATSSEP) was designed to help grow the workforce and address skills gaps, with 400 funded traineeships for social services workers.

Delivered in partnership with the Workforce Innovation and Development Institute at RMIT University, and leading organisations in the Victorian social services sector.

The purpose of the project was to:

• Give experienced and unrecognised social services workers the opportunity to upskill and gain credentials through a Certificate IV Disability traineeship (200 funded places).
• Give experienced and emerging social service leaders the opportunity to upskill through an Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management traineeship (200 funded places).

Invites 100 women to a Try a Trade Day(opens in a new window), with the aim of recruiting 30 women to start a pre-apprenticeship scheme. Run by the Electrical Trades Union.

In partnership with master plumbers, the program(opens in a new window) champions a connected community of aspiring female students, apprentices and plumbers to address participation rates for women in plumbing.

This project(opens in a new window) was managed by the Australian Industry Group, aimed to recruit and support 30 women in engineering apprenticeships, and 20 women in traineeships in ICT and Industry 4.0.

Recruits 10 women into rail industry traineeships combining structured learning with on-the-job experience in high capacity metro trains at Downer Group(opens in a new window).