Improving Australia’s Apprenticeship and Job Training System
Improving Australia’s Apprenticeship and Job Training System
In a report by Mitchell Institute at Victoria University, the number of new apprenticeships and traineeships is expected to fall by 30% in two years. This translates to an estimated decrease of 130,000 new apprentices and trainees from the time the pandemic began up to 2023.
Peter Hurley, Mitchell Institute education policy fellow, noted that apprentices are hugely impacted with the current trends in the economy due to employers’ hesitation to place them in a 3-4-years contract because of economic uncertainty.
This trend is reflective of young people’s decision to stop working or training, which leads to skill shortages down the road.
Australian Industry Group (AIG) chief executive Innes Willox observed that the current vocational education and training system (VET) is struggling to deliver the skills needed by the economy. Training resources are often outdated and inflexible, leaving employers frustrated because their needs were unmet.
Another factor for the decline in apprenticeship is VET’s budget is at its lowest level in more than 10 years, according to a recent report by Mitchell Institute. Some states were even accused of taking advantage of federal financing to decrease their funding.
Labor’s education spokesperson Tanya Plibersek says the training system needs fundamental reform. TAFE (Technical and Further Education) needs adequate funding and the country needs courses that lay good foundations for long-term careers. She added employers, unions and TAFE teachers must be involved in the reform, so people can receive the best training to equip them with available jobs in their local cities and towns.
Likewise, the Productivity Commission recommended a $6.1 billion VET investment yearly to put more emphasis on assisting students to get the training they need.
On the part of the federal government, they are concentrating on three key issues: VET’s responsiveness to skills demands, knowing the industry skills requirements and improving funding arrangements to be more consistent, cohesive and results-oriented.
The National Skills Commission will be responsible for the funding advice and improving the labour market forecasting to help recognise future jobs and how to prepare for them.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Micaela Cash said that jobs created coming out of the COVID-19 crisis will be different from the jobs that were lost.
In the meantime, the Labor party and industry groups suggested that employers should keep apprentices and trainees as part of Australia’s economic recovery.
Plibersek focused on the following courses that will set people up for successful careers: plumbing, carpentry, hairdressing, renewable energy, manufacturing, aged care and disability.
The Supporting Apprentices and Trainees package worth $1.3 billion will ensure up to 70,000 small businesses can employ around 117,000 apprentices and trainees in work and training.
And about $213 million were distributed to help 46,000 apprentices, excluding placements that received the Jobkeeper scheme.
AIG group called for the government to allocate $4 billion for continued wage subsidies of apprentices and trainees until 2021 to avoid a drop-off in number caused by the pandemic