Aspiring tradies in NSW will no longer have to pay up to $3000 in fees to learn hospitality, plumbing, carpentry or bricklaying skills.
The $285 million plan to fund 100,000 apprenticeships will be announced in Tuesday's NSW budget.
"We want to grow the number of apprentices. We need more tradies," NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro told ABC radio on Monday.
"We want to make sure we take away any impediment."
The plan has been welcomed by the NSW Business Chamber, which believes it will also help business owners who are keen to take on new staff.
Chief executive Stephen Cartwright hopes it will also improve the skills gap, which he says is especially prevalent in regional NSW.
"Getting young Australians into an apprenticeship and building a quality workforce is fundamental to future economic and social prosperity," he said in a statement.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the economy was "humming" and he wanted to ensure "we are equipping a workforce with the skills to meet future demand" from the government's infrastructure building program.
ALSO READ
