VET & TAFE
campusreview.com.au
The worthy
apprentice
W
Australia’s training
system has a
long and proud
tradition but it will
need to adapt to
rapid changes
to provide what
the country and
its workers need
for the future.
By Megan Lilly
18
e can look back fondly and see an
Australian apprenticeship system with
a long and proud tradition. It has been
highly valued and has enjoyed a strong commitment
from employers, unions, the training system, parents
and apprentices themselves. Yet, if we ask these
groups about the apprenticeship system of today, or
of the future, we are unlikely to draw great comfort.
Declining participation and poor perceptions
have challenged the system. NCVER data shows
apprenticeship numbers were down 11.8 per cent last
year from the previous year. At the same time, skills
shortages began emerging in the November 2015
ABS data, which showed that 61 per cent of trades
and technician occupations are now experiencing a
shortage. Furthermore, the completion rate for both
apprentices and trainees remains unacceptably low,
at 58.3 per cent.
Understanding what is required for Australia
to strengthen its commitment to a quality fit-for-
purpose apprenticeship system – and the value of
such a system – requires us to explore its current
state and areas for reform.
Despite considerable investment by both levels of
government, the system remains bedevilled by layers
of complexity and overlap, leading to unnecessary
duplication, inefficiencies and confusion. Variable
funding models, different durations for identical
qualifications and differing approaches to regulation
are examples of this.
Attempts at reforming the system have been
occurring for more than two decades. This includes
the new Australian Apprenticeships, relaunched in
2006, and the A Shared Responsibility: Apprenticeships
for the 21st Century report in 2011. Most recently, this
year, the federal government has released the report
from the Apprenticeship Reform Advisory Group and
the issue is regularly on the Council of Australian
Governments (COAG) agenda.
The striking feature of all of this work is, despite