VET News

Improving Apprenticeship Completion Rates a Priority Challenge

Minister for Skills and Training recently gave a speech and the 25th Year Celebration Lunch, commemorating the work of the Apprenticeship Support Australia.  This is what he had to say:

Since 1998, the Australian Apprenticeship Centre, and more recently, Apprenticeship Support Australia, has a played pivotal role in supporting apprentices to transition from training to tradesperson.  Yet right now, we face a dramatic skills shortage. The worst since WW2.  And in overcoming this shortage we must work together, and every group represented in this room has a part to play.
 
It’s become clear, without a properly funded VET sector, and a genuine support structure for apprentices and trainees, we will not keep up with changing industry needs.  Needs that are changing faster than ever. Industries are innovating rapidly, and our workforce needs to keep pace. We must have the skills pool to face the global challenges of our time. And to make a real difference one of the priority challenges is improving apprenticeship completion rates.

Apprenticeship completion rates

Recent data shows only 56 percent of apprentices complete their apprenticeships.  Just over half of apprentices are finishing their training at a time when we’re grappling with the most serious skills shortage in decades.  I don’t need to spell out just how important it is that we turn this around.
 
Of the 44 per cent of apprentices dropping out, it’s a safe bet that some of them would have made great qualified tradespeople, had they just been better supported to finish.  That’s why our government wants to offer more proactive support services over the life of apprenticeships. This is particularly important in the first two years, when wages are typically at their lowest and apprentices are at the highest risk of dropping out. 

Mentoring and in-training support is an important focus – especially for apprentices who experience additional barriers to finishing their training. One-in-four apprentices drop out during their first year when wages are at their lowest. This says to me they need more support. So, for that reason we’ve expanded the list of occupations covered by the Australian Apprenticeship Priority List from 77 to 111. This means more apprentices can access direct payments of up to $5,000 under the Apprentice Training Support payments, or up to $10,000 under the New Energy Apprenticeship program.

And it’s not just trade apprentices and trainees that need extra support.  People training for vital jobs in our care sectors are another example of where we need thousands more skilled workers. It’s why we recently passed legislation that expands interest-free, income-contingent support loans to non-trade apprentices for the very first time.  This means approximately 35,000 additional apprentices and trainees in areas of skills shortage will become eligible for important cost-of-living support.

Many in this room have made a significant contribution to the skills development of Australians. I commend your commitment to industry, employers and apprentices, and thank you for a generation long legacy of success.

Read the full Ministers' Media Centre Release here.

Date posted Sep 7, 2023