Apprenticeship Boost is a payment to employers of apprentices in their first and second year of training, and is available until 31 December 2024. The subsidy to employers covers $500 per month in the apprentice's first and second-year.
The Government has announced that Apprenticeship Boost has been extended until 30 June 2028, and will have changes to eligibility from 1 January 2025, including availability to employers of eligible first-year apprentices only. We will update this page when we have more information.
This scheme is administered by the Ministry of Social Development with the Work and Income website providing the application details.
The following information has been provided by the Tertiary Education Commission. Please direct all questions to the Ministry of Social Development: apprenticeship_boost@msd.govt.nz.
To be eligible for Apprenticeship Boost, an apprentice must be actively training and have completed 24 months or less in an eligible apprenticeship. The start date will be the date of an apprentice’s first apprenticeship training agreement with the provider the apprentice is enrolled with at the time their current employer applies for Apprenticeship Boost payments. This also applies to any changes to the enrolment during the eligibility period. An apprentice’s previous apprenticeship enrolment(s) with a provider will be counted, even if it was a different apprenticeship programme. MSD will calculate this. You'll get your first month's payment once your application is approved. This is paid in advance and covers one month. If you completed your application within 20 working days of creating your account, your payment start date will be the day you created your account. If you completed your application 20 working days or more after you created your account, your payment start date will be the day you completed your application. You can apply via the Work and Income website.