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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 11 Hansard (24 September) . . Page.. 3305 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

The Government has also decided to double expenditure to $116,000 to provide for two additional courses under the new future in small business program. This program provides older unemployed people who have been retrenched or made redundant with an opportunity to establish themselves in a successful small business. A total of 64 people will now be able to take advantage of this program, which includes five intensive weeks of training, business experience placement, and 12 months' mentoring support. Additional funding of $34,000 has been allocated to service Canberra's three open access centres, which enable people who are unemployed to access resources needed to update their resumes or improve keyboard skills. It is anticipated that more than 1,100 clients will use these centres in Belconnen, Tuggeranong and Civic. The centres will now receive total funding of $200,000. Funding of $165,000 will again be provided to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for management of the Youth Joblink program. The target for this financial year is the creation of 150 new positions. The Government is also assessing expressions of interest from organisations seeking to operate a casual job placement service. A total of $60,000 has been offered as seed funding in this budget.

Mr Speaker, the ACT is at the forefront in Australia in offering apprenticeships to Canberra's school students. The Government is committed to enhancing training opportunities for students. We will continue to work with industry to maximise the relevance and opportunity for training while at school. This year, the ACT will receive more than $400,000 additional funding for formal vocational education and training in schools. What this means is that by the end of 1998 more than a quarter of school leavers in the ACT will have skills that will be recognised by local employers. In 1996, more than 1,000 senior secondary students are undertaking training that will gain them a qualification recognised by industry nationally. The number of students who will leave school with training qualifications in 1997 will double.

Up to 800 additional places, representing more than 140,000 student contact hours, will be funded in 1996-97 in training institutions and workplaces in the ACT by the Australian National Training Authority. Many of the training places will be in courses in the Canberra Institute of Technology, covering areas as diverse as health, community services, business, the arts and clerical skills. Additional places will also be funded in information technology and in the tourism and hospitality industry.

As part of the Government's determination to get this Territory moving, I am announcing today a major new home buyers assistance program called Kick Start.

Mr Hird: Good news.

MRS CARNELL: It is good news. In fact, this is very exciting. This scheme will provide increased opportunity for public housing tenants to buy a home, while at the same time providing a significant stimulus to the ACT building industry. Assistance of $5,000 will be available for 500 approved public housing tenants each year, which will help them to meet the requirements for a 5 per cent deposit. The Kick Start scheme will be run in conjunction with two major mortgage lenders, who will offer a concessional rate of

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