Industry Skills Fund – Information

What assistance is available?

1) Skills Advice

2) Training Grants

Skills Advice

An independent skills adviser will meet with you to help you understand your growth opportunities and identify the skills your business needs to increase competitiveness.

This free advice will be tailored to your business and may include activities such as analysis of training needs, skills audits and workforce development planning.

Following skills advice will receive recommendations for skills activities that will help you improve your business’ growth potential.

Skills advisers are located across Australia including in rural and regional areas.

Training grants

Grants will be provided towards training on a co-contribution basis depending on the size of your business. Training activities that qualify for a grant include:

1) Nationally recognised industry qualifications and skill sets

2) State and territory accredited training including language, literacy and numeracy training

3) High quality non-accredited, innovative or tailored training

4) Training required to export

5) Mentoring directly related to training

Examples of training already funded include

Export management training

1) Solar photovoltaic installation and design

2) Graduate certificate in brewing

3) Advanced diploma in Industrial automation

4) Lean manufacturing

5) Certificate III in Aviation

Co-contribution rates

The Industry Skills Fund operates as a co-contribution model where businesses must financially contribute to the proposed project dependent on the size of the business determined by full-time equivalent (FTE) staff levels.

Businesses must cover in full, all costs not directly attributed to the delivery of the training and contributions cannot be in-kind.

What is the industry skill fund?

The Industry Skills Fund is a key element of the Australian Government’s strategy to oost business productivity and increase competitiveness across the economy.

A highly skilled workforce that is able to adapt to rapid technological and structural change and to meet new business opportunities is a priority for Australia.

Help is provided to businesses, particularly micro and small business, so they can continue to power the engine room of the Australian economy. Support is provided to businesses to upskill and train employees to meet these future challenges.

The Industry Skills Fund assists businesses to invest in training and support services, and to develop innovative training solutions.

The Industry SKills Fund can assist your business to access training and support services that help you:

1) Diversify into or respond to new market opportunities both domestically and internationally

2) Adopt emerging technology

3) Enter export markets

4) Respond to significant domestic market opportunities

5) Reposition due to market driven structural adjustment

Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must be solvent Australian enterprises which:

1) Are non tax-exempt

2) Have an Australian Business Number

3) Are registered for GST

4) Have a demonstrated trading history of at least three consecutive years

5) Are not named by the Affirmitive Action Agency as an organisation that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth)

How to get assistance

The first step in seeking assistance is to:

Call the single business service on 13 28 46, or complete the simple online enquiry  form at business.gov.au/industryskillsfund