National is promising to give $4000 to tertiary education providers for every Kiwi they retrain and get back into full-time work within a year, as part of its $250 million reskilling policy.
The SkillStart scheme is expected to support at least 30,000 New Zealanders back into full-time employment, and any registered polytechnic, university or private training establishment would be eligible to apply for it.
For every eligible trainee under the scheme who gets a new job in a relevant industry within three months of completing their course, the provider will receive a job placement success payment of $4000, under National's scheme.
Providers will be eligible for these payments if, prior to starting the course, the trainee had recently been made unemployed or had been receiving a main benefit - excluding JobSeeker Student Hardship - for at least three months.
The programme would not include school leaders, and payment to providers would be conditional on the trainee retaining their new job past the 90-day trial period.
Here's how it would work
The COVID-19 pandemic has put pressure on many industries, such as tourism, thanks to the border being closed to most people except for returning Kiwis.
Under the SkillStart scheme, Kiwis who have lost their job could enrol in an approved rapid retraining course developed by a local polytechnic or other tertiary provider, to learn new skills to work in a different industry and get a job.
The education providers would be incentivised to develop the new training programmes - which would range from three months to a year - because of the $4000 payment if a student is offered a job and maintains it for 90 days.
National leader Judith Collins described the programme as a "rapid retraining and job placement scheme, which will get displaced Kiwis into jobs quickly and provide a strong incentive" for polytechnics, universities and private training providers.
National would implement a fast-tracked approval process to ensure the new education training programmes would be approved within three months.
National has already unveiled its JobStart scheme where businesses could get $10,000 every time they employ a new full-time worker. They'd get $5000 when the hire is made and an additional $5000 after the new worker had completed 90 days.
National would also allow Kiwis who have lost their job since March to withdraw $20,000 from KiwiSaver to start a business, as part of its BusinessStart policy unveiled in July.
The National Party has also promised income tax cuts if elected in October by increasing the current income tax thresholds and they say it would be targeted towards middle income earners.
If you earn between $60,000 and $80,000 a year you'll get between $2500 and $3500. But lower-income earners get way less - $560 to $900 if you're on $50,000.
National's reskilling policy also includes:
- Small Business Builder: A 12 week business training and mentoring programme to provide unemployed Kiwis with the skills they need to start a business.
- Small Business Accelerator: A dedicated fund to deliver management training to small business owners, to help them grow their businesses and create jobs.
- Under 25 Job Coach: A specialist position within WINZ offices tasked with working with Kiwis under 25 on the JobSeeker benefit to develop personalised, intensive 'path to work' plans to get them back into the workforce.
National announced as party of its tech policy that it plans to create at least 100,000 technology-focused jobs by investing $1.29 billion over the next decade in high-speed internet, fast-tracked visas and partnering with the private sector.
The current Government intends to keep the first year of university free for students, but is not following through with its promise to make an additional year free. It has also made trades training and apprenticeships free.
