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Education & Training

Training for your next green job?

Rudd pledges 50,000 green jobs to help boost the economy

In his address to the ALP National Conference on today, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised green jobs training program to create 50,000 new green jobs.

"The Government will now create 50,000 new green jobs, traineeships and apprenticeships aimed chiefly at helping young Australians to obtain new skills during the downturn - new skills which will be become highly applicable in the low carbon economy of the future," he said in his speech to 45th ALP National conference held at the Sydney Convention Centre. The program will include a $94 million investment to reform Australia's training system.

Rudd wen on to break down the 50,000 jobs to a number of key industries and programs, outlining:
· 4000 disadvantaged job seekers participating in the current insulation program;
· 6000 local green jobs through the jobs fund;
· 10,000 places in a new National Green Jobs Corps, to include bush regeneration and tree planning, wildlife and marine habitat protection, natural park restoration and installing more energy efficient buildings;
· 30,000 trainees and apprentices in priority sectors of the building and construction sectors and other trades, where places will concentrate across the range of "green skills" competencies that will be needed in the future. These will be achieved through a new National Green Skills Agreement and will start building a new skill base in existing industries and cutting-edge industries, and create jobs and opportunities for generations to come.

The Government's training targets are centered mostly in the building industry, where Rudd says the practical job-ready skills included in this training would include:
· Training electricians in the installation of solar energy;
· Training plumbers in the installation of water-recycling, plumbing systems; and
· Training workers in the booming home insulation industry and the retro-fitting of buildings to reduce energy consumption

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