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State and federal governments are under pressure to boost low apprenticeship completion rates in the face of skills shortages and an expected infrastructure boom.
Data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research shows just 55.1 per cent of apprentices across a range of trades who started their training in 2016 had completed it by July this year – a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from the 2015 cohort.
New federal government figures show a record 217,400 apprentices commenced their training at the end of July. But peak training organisations are now urging the government to focus on ensuring higher rates of completion.
Ben Clarke is a year away from completing his electrical apprenticeship.Credit:Nick Moir
The Australian Industry Group’s head of workforce development, Megan Lilly, said it was important to continue supporting a high number of new apprenticeships and focus on completion rates.
“Our completion rates are not satisfactory, and they need to be lifted,” she said. “We need to work within each occupation to work out the best strategies to help young people in particular complete their apprenticeship and go on to successful trade careers.”
Dianne Dayhew, chief executive of the National Apprentice Employment Network, said it was vital apprentices were given the right training and support. “We can’t properly address the skills’ shortage if we continue to lose around half of those who begin an apprenticeship,” she said.
The federal government has topped up its Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program with a further $3.9 billion over four years from 2020-21. It provides a 50 per cent wage subsidy in the first year of an apprenticeship, 10 per cent in the second year and five per cent in the third.
Infrastructure Australia’s Market Capacity Report recently found investment in infrastructure will likely double over the next three years, but warned there may not be enough skilled workers to deliver projects. It predicted a shortfall of 105,000 unfilled infrastructure jobs in mid-2023.
Tom Emeleus, general manager of training and apprenticeships at the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA), said the pandemic had highlighted Australia’s reliance on skilled migrants.