About 600 employers have already agreed to offer work experience places to young unemployed people in a new job training scheme that will start taking applications on Wednesday.
The Labour Department said yesterday 600 employers had pledged 3,200 vacancies for its Youth Work Experience and Training scheme - more than three quarters of them in the private sector.
The goal of the $400 million scheme, open to non-degree holders aged between 15 and 24, is to provide 10,000 young people with on-the-job training for between six and 12 months. Applications will be accepted until August 13.
But critics say employers should be given extra incentives to encourage them to offer trainees permanent posts.
Education services, catering and wholesale and retail comprise 40 per cent of the posts, with sales, IT and customer service assistant jobs among the most popular.
Trainees will be paid salaries of between $4,000 and $8,000 a month.
Employers will receive a monthly subsidy of $2,000 for each place offered, while the trainees are urged to enrol in part-time vocational courses, for which they will be reimbursed course and examination fees up to $4,000.