The Commonwealth Government has introduced the Australian Skills Guarantee (Skills Guarantee) to leverage its significant purchasing power to help address skills shortages and gender segregation in the building and construction and maintenance services (construction) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sectors. The policy seeks to address ongoing acute skills shortages by providing opportunities for apprentices and trainees (referred to as apprentices in this document), and ICT cadets across the country. The Skills Guarantee also aims to drive long term sustainable change to tackle gender imbalance in historically male dominated industries and increase gender diversity in the apprenticeship system by setting targets for women.

The key mechanism to implement the Skills Guarantee is through the introduction of the Skills Guarantee Procurement Connected Policy (PCP). The Skills Guarantee PCP provides high-level instructions for relevant parties engaging in Commonwealth procurements in the construction and ICT sectors.