VET News

Skilling Australia for a Better Future

In recent years Australia's trade apprenticeship numbers have stagnated, traineeship numbers have fallen and, despite high youth unemployment rates prior to the pandemic, many businesses across Australia were reporting skills shortages.  Funding for apprenticeships, and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector more broadly, has stagnated, with Governments expecting students or employers to invest more in training.   Fewer young people are choosing an apprenticeship as their primary option and fewer schools and careers advisors are promoting apprenticeships as preferred pathways. 

Government data published by the NCVER does not yet reflect the impact of COVID-19.  Since the start of 2020, the global economy has been hit hard, with the Australian economy all but entering recession. This worsening of business conditions was believed to have had a significant flow-on effect on apprentice numbers. 

This report summarises the findings of research undertaken by Apprenticeship Support Australia NSW (ASANSW) with employers and apprentices.  It provides an understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on apprentice employment in real-time, analyses the consequences of 'doing nothing' and puts forward a set of key recommendations to address the issues uncovered.

Modelling in this report is undertaken on the basis that Australia is on the road to economic recovery.  If this proves not to be the case, it is likely that the actual numbers will be far worse than our projections.

You can access the full report here.

Date posted Jul 16, 2020