Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

The new apprenticeship network will be used by more than 100,000 employers, three-quarters of whom are small businesses, and around 350,000 apprentices around Australia. The network will provide support services at more than 100 additional locations compared with the services that were provided under the old Australian Apprenticeship Centre model of the Labor Party. That is 100 additional locations around Australia where employers and apprentices will be able to access support: some 280 network provider sites and an additional 160 outreach servicing arrangements to provide particular coverage in rural, regional and remote Australia. Under the three years of the previous government's program, just 41,000 apprentices received mentoring. Over the next three years, under our program, 88,000 apprentices will, in targeted situations, be able to receive mentoring or other assistance to help them through their apprenticeship.