VET News

Apprenticeship and Traineeship Numbers Remain High

Apprentices and trainees 2021 – December quarter released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) provides a national picture of apprenticeship and traineeship activity, including both quarterly and annual figures that can be broken down by state and territory. It also includes information on the main movements across various demographic and occupational categories.

The latest data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) show there were 349 235 apprentices and trainees in-training as at 31 December 2021, 16.8% higher than at the same time in 2020 and only slightly lower than at the end of the September quarter 2021.

In trade occupations, numbers were up 12.0% to 216 265 in-training as at 31 December 2021, while numbers in non-trade occupations were up 25.3% to 132 905.

“The number of apprentices and trainees in-training remain higher than in recent years largely as a result of the Australian Government’s Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy, said NCVER Managing Director Simon Walker.  “This scheme, introduced in early October 2020 to help recovery from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, lead to a notable increase in commencements over the past four quarters to September quarter 2021,” Mr Walker explained.

Compared with December quarter 2020, commencements in trade and non-trade occupations were down 31.1% and 32.9% respectively. The industry sectors with largest absolute decreases were Construction (36.7%), Manufacturing (48.5%) and Accommodation (28.4%).

NCVER full media release.

Date posted Jul 28, 2022