Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said that young people in the Parkes Electorate will soon be able to access the $188.3 million Employability Skills Training programme to help improve their chances of finding and keeping a job. 
Mr Coulton congratulated the training organisations on their new role and looked forward to the program starting this April.
“The Coalition Government is investing $188.3 million in Employability Skills Training (EST), to help more young Australians into work,” he said.
“This is a great initiative to help our young people get the skills they need to take up a job in the region.”  
The Minister for Employment, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, confirmed that six Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) will deliver training in the area under Youth Jobs PaTH (Prepare, Trial, Hire), to help young people aged 15-24 years gain the skills employers are looking for when hiring staff in entry-level positions. 
These organisations include: Career Options Training Australia Pty Ltd, Griffith Skills Training Centre Inc., Joblink Plus Limited, The MTA Group Training Scheme Inc., The Quality Training and Hospitality College Pty Ltd and Train Australia Pty Ltd.
Minister Cash said the Government has committed $188.3 million over four years to the Employability Skills Training program, which is the ‘Prepare’ element of Youth Jobs PaTH. 
“We know that businesses are keen to employ young people but sometimes find that applicants do not have core skills for the workplace,” Minister Cash said.
“Through Employability Skills Training young people will gain that knowledge and be better prepared to take up job opportunities.”
Employers are already able to hire young Australians by accessing a Youth Bonus wage subsidy of up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) per employee. From April, young people will be able to undertake a voluntary internship of 4-12 weeks to gain work experience and further boost their job prospects.
A full list of the successful organisations that accepted the opportunity to deliver Employability Skills Training can be found here:  https://www.employment.gov.au/employability-skills-training-panel-applications.
For more information on Employability Skills Training and other support available for young people under the Government’s Youth Employment Strategy, visit: www.employment.gov.au/youth