Budget 2010 - 6,000 more Job Ops places

The Government is investing an additional $26.7 million to expand the Job Ops programme which has been successful in helping more than 4,000 young people obtain employment.

The new funding will create an additional 6,000 opportunities for the 2010/11 financial year and will see the total number of Job Ops placements double from 6,000 to 12,000.

Job Ops targets unskilled and unemployed 16 to 24 year olds with low or no qualifications and subsidises employers $5,000 for each young person hired into a newly created entry level position for six months.  This consists of an upfront payment of $3,000 with a further $2,000 paid once the person has completed six months in the job.

The programme, which is part of the Government's Youth Opportunities package, is designed to give young people the opportunity to build their skills and increase their future employability. It also supports small-to-medium sized businesses to create and fill entry level roles with little or no risk.

The Government is taking this opportunity to change the rules around Job Ops after feedback from employers. Employers with 19 or fewer employees will be able to use the 90 day employment trial period, where this is agreed to by both parties, as part of the employment agreement.

The new positions can be created up to June 2011 so that the final Job Op placements will end in December 2011.

The cost of the new Job Ops places will be partially offset by reduced spending on unemployment benefits, resulting in the net cost being $16.7 million in 2010/11.