The Government has partnered with the Australian Hotels Association as part of the Youth Jobs PaTH program.
The AHA has committed to supporting 10,000 interns through the program, which aims to help young people between 17-24 gain training and experience and discover career paths in industries that are often suffering from skills shortages.
The interns are paid $200 a fortnight, and businesses are also given $1000 for each internship they take on.
This has been criticised, particularly by the ACTU, who believe it is taking jobs away from established employees and allowing businesses to use interns who receive below-minimum wage.
This overlooks and over-simplifies many factors and the long-term goals of the program. With the current skill shortage, it is unlikely that any existing staff would lose work as a result of the internships. Not to mention, the internships are only for a short time and are not a long-term solution.
The internships aim to attract young people to the industry and develop skills that will help them find work. The program reports that many of the internships have resulted in job offers already. This is a positive outcome for both sides.
It’s great that AHA is undertaking this scheme, and we look forward to seeing how it goes!