Regional apprenticeships initiative
Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit (Kānoa – RDU) administers several skills and training programmes to help regional New Zealand workers find sustainable long-term employment.
This support includes the Regional Apprenticeships Initiative, or RAI, which was established to support new apprentices and their employers from across a range of business and industry sectors.
The RAI provides financial and pastoral support for people who want to take up an apprenticeship or other similar NZQA Level Four industry training qualifications.
The RAI allocates up to $40,000 per apprentice which includes wage subsidies through the Apprenticeship Support Programme, as well as business support and help for employers to provide pastoral care for their apprentices.
Applications for inclusion in the RAI scheme have come from the primary sector, construction, manufacturing, engineering and wood processing industries, as well as third party service providers.
The RAI is now closed to new applicants for both third party and non-third party providers.
RAI was formed as part of a wider Government support package which includes Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) Apprenticeship Boost Initiative, Mana in Mahi and the Group Training Scheme. To find out more about MSD’s services please visit the link below:
Apprenticeship Support Programme — Work and Income
The RAI’s priorities included supporting Māori and Pasifika, people who had finished pre-trade training but were unable to progress into an apprenticeship, and those who had lost work due to COVID-19. Urban areas such as Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland were not covered by this initiative.