The Australian Government is committed to lifting the skills of disadvantaged Australians and has invested an additional $292.8 million over four years in the 2011-12 Budget as part of the Skills to Promote Increased Participation Package. There are five initiatives in this year’s Budget that will assist adult Australians to improve their skills, three targeting job seekers and parents on income support and the other two aimed at workers:

• Improved access to the Language Literacy and Numeracy Program (LLNP) includes $143.1 million for an additional 30,000 training places for job seekers over four years and then 30,000 commencements per year thereafter.
• Australian Apprenticeships Access Program – continued enhancements funding includes $19.7 million from 1 July 2012.
• Additional training to support the return to work of single and teenage parents on income support: The Government is contributing an additional $80 million to states and territories over four years for training to help single and teenage parents refresh, update or build their skill base and improve their chances of finding employment.
• An expansion of the Workplace English Language Literacy Program (WELL) includes $20 million for more than 13,000 additional training places over four years and targets workers.
• More Help for Mature Age Workers is a brand new initiative that includes $30 million over three years to fund 7,500 skills assessments for mature age workers.

For further information visit the Fact Sheet webpage.