A further $A43 million for the National Workforce Development Fund will support 130 new workplace skills projects with an additional 15,000 people to benefit from training.

The latest tranche of funding will take the total funds allocated for the current financial year through the NWDF to around $110 million.

The government has allocated $6.5 million in funding to develop and expand the My Skills website and $18.1 million over four years to establish three Australian Skills Centres of Excellence, with the initiatives to complement the $1.75 billion National Partnership Agreement.

The new agreement will enable 375,000 additional students over five years to complete their qualifications and improve training enrolments and completions in high-level skills, particularly among key groups of disadvantaged students.

Working-age Australians will be entitled to a government-subsidised training place to obtain a qualification up to their first Certificate III, including foundation skills or lower qualifications within Certificate III.

The Australian government will also make available HECS-style loans for government-subsidised diploma and advanced diploma students, which will reduce upfront costs for students undertaking higher level qualifications.

The budget also contained various measures to encourage parents, mature-age workers, the disadvantaged and people living in remote areas into the workforce.

From July next year, the new $1.5 billion Remote Jobs and Communities program will provide a more integrated and flexible approach to employment and participation services for people living in remote areas of Australia.

A single provider with a permanent presence in remote regions will assist jobseekers.

“This will provide people with better service on the ground, rather than the fly-in, fly-out support that currently operates in many places,” the government said.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott welcomed the funding.

“We endorse the continuing focus on skills and the protection of training initiatives in this budget, including the additional funding for the up-skilling and re-skilling of Australian workers through the National Workforce Development Fund,” she said.

She also welcomed the increase in skilled migration by 5000 workers to meet demand for workers.

“The boost to skilled migrant numbers to 190,000 is also an important measure which will help address current skills shortages, especially with the very large projects which are so important to Australia’s productivity,” Westacott said.