Last month, National announced its "solution" to youth unemployment: ignoring the unemployed, while putting the boot into orphans and sexual abuse victims. Yesterday Labour responded with their alternative: a massive increase in trade apprenticeships, funded by turning dole-payments into an apprenticeship subsidy. Meaning: teenagers in training, learning skills which will significantly increase their employment prospects and lifetime earnings. Plus extra money for mentoring and support, to allow school-leavers to find whichever training opportunity suits them best.
Its a solution so blindingly obvious I'm surprised (like pretty much everyone else) no-one has thought of it before. We have a skills shortage. We have people who need training. Duh. And in the worst case, if that shortage miraculously disappears, then people simply take their skills over the Tasman and earn more money there. Either way, its better for them, and us, than sitting around doing nothing, or working in McDonalds.
