If you live in a house or apartment, drive a car, use public transport, access the NBN, use electricity, rely on products that depend on extractive industries, have a relative in Aged Care or using the NDIS, want solar panels for your roof or are reassured by the deep clean of the school your children go to, you are the beneficiary of some of the skills the 4.5 million Australians have gained through the apprenticeship and traineeship system this century.
But the system is currently facing three major challenges:
1. The long term reduction in apprenticeship commencements
2. Diminution of the value propositions for employers to be involved in apprenticeships
3. A system designed around the needs of primarily young boys starting a trade from school, in an era where a diverse range of people commence as mature aged apprentices and trainees.
The apprenticeship system endures because it delivers the skills employers need, in the way they want the jobs performed, keeping abreast of changing technology and workflows. But the trifecta of challenges faced by the system place it at a crossroads.
This Technical Paper makes a number of detailed recommendations about how the system can be made more fit for purpose for the years ahead.
Renewing the apprenticeship construct – final
