The federal government will give hundreds more Australian high schools a share of $384 million to set up trade training centres around the country.
Education Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday announced 302 schools had been awarded grants to establish the centres under round two of Labor's Trade Training Centres in Schools program.
Under the scheme, high schools can apply for funding of between $500,000 and $1.5 million to set up a trade training centre.
Ms Gillard said many of the schools which had received grants planned to work together to establish joint facilities.
The program would address future labour shortages in traditional and emerging trades, she said.
In the second round of funding, 223 public schools received more than 73 per cent of the total $384 million to go towards 62 projects.
Thirty-eight Catholic schools received almost 14 per cent of the funding for 16 projects and 41 independent schools were given to same portion of money to go towards 14 projects.
"Kids need options, they need a pathway, many of our secondary students want to have a career in traditional trades or emerging trades," Ms Gillard told reporters in Melbourne's northwest.
"We recognise too many of our secondary schools had no trades training facility or a facility that was better suited to the 1950s than to the 21st century."
Applications for funding under round three of the training centres program open on Friday.
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