Kevin Rudd unveils Step into Skills, a $35 million plan for young disadvantaged job seekers

Updated

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has unveiled a $35 million plan to help young, disadvantaged job seekers become more employable.

The Step into Skills program will help about 9,000 job seekers before they undertake vocational training.

Mr Rudd made the announcement in Queanbeyan in the NSW electorate of Eden-Monaro, held by Labor's Mike Kelly.

Mr Rudd says the program will fill a gap in the training system.

"There is a group of young folk who often fall between the cracks - those who come out of the school system but are not ready in terms of their skills set to head into formal vocational training," he said.

"We want to make sure they can realise their full potential as well."

Employment Minister Brendan O'Connor says the program is designed to give young people the skills needed to find and hold down a job.

He says Step into Skills will enable disadvantaged job seekers: "to interview properly, to make sure that they're reliable, to understand the obligations of work, to ensure that they can present themselves well, to make sure that they have non-vocational support from Government as well."

Mr O'Connor says it is not enough to simply train people in vocational skills.

"Given that we have people growing up in jobless households, they don't always have role models, they don't always understand the ethics of work and therefore it's important that there is investment dedicated to those disadvantaged young people to ensure that they get every opportunity they can to have a productive life - a meaningful life," he said.

The program will be delivered primarily through TAFE and is aimed at youth aged between 16 and 24.

Topics: federal-elections, unemployment, community-and-society, vocational, queanbeyan-2620, australia

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