Hard-hit service sector employers and their apprentices will greatly benefit from the government's new Apprentice Boost scheme, says Andrew McSweeney, Chief Executive of the sector's industry training organisation, ServiceIQ.

'We very much welcome this investment and are hoping that the scheme will provide a much needed boost to our service sectors which, while hurting from COVID-19, still employ more than a quarter of the country's workforce and generate a significant part of the nation's GDP,” says Andrew.

'It's vital for the eventual recovery of the economy that current apprentices remain employed and continue their training, and that employers have the confidence to take on new apprentices, helping build business and industry capacity and resilience, and giving New Zealanders of all ages the opportunity to create and build rewarding careers.

'There's still detail to come on this initiative, but we understand that all employers with first or second year apprentices will be eligible, which would include many current and new apprentices working in hospitality - cookery, catering, food & beverage services, and aviation - aircraft and aeronautical engineering.

'As MSD notes on its website: ‘more information will be available in the coming weeks on eligibility and how to apply'. We hope to have this soon so we can share that information with our employers, who are already expressing strong interest.

'We encourage any employers with an apprentice – or looking at taking one on – to contact us now so that we can assist them with any government requirements and to ensure that training can start or continue as appropriate.

'In the meantime, we have put together, from the information that is available, a set of FAQs that we believe will be useful for service sector employers. We'll update them as we have more details. The FAQs are on our website at https://www.serviceiq.org.nz/boost.”

Details of ServiceIQ apprenticeships are here: https://www.serviceiq.org.nz/training/apprenticeships/

Information on the initiative and how employers can apply for assistance is here: https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/work/apprentice-support/index.html