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A recent figures revealed that the federal government over the last five years has underspent close to $1 billion of its budget on TAFE, training and apprenticeships. This is on top of previous cuts.
At the same time, that these budgets cuts are happening, Australia is still experiencing critical skills shortages in several industries. A number of experts have warned of serious effects on the Australian economy.
The report released by the Australian Industry Group can be found here: www.aigroup.com.au
It also identified:
At the time of its 2018 survey, Ai Group called for new approaches to education, training and re-skilling to maximise the benefits of the digital economy.
“Our survey has found major skills demand issues facing employers,” chief executive Innes Willox said.
“It provides an important gauge of employer sentiment around skill needs, education and training at a critical time for industry transformation.”
Image Source: NCVER, Apprentices and trainees 2015 December quarter
The number of Australians completing an apprenticeship or traineeship is lower today than it was a decade ago.
Let’s look at the apprentices and trainees data now over the last few years.
Since 2013, according to data compiled by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), apprentice numbers have dropped by 25 to 50 percent.
The number of apprentices and trainees who commenced training in September 2013 dropped by 49.56 per cent from 71,600 to 36,115 by September 2017.
The number of apprentices and trainees who were in training during this same period dropped by 34.7 percent from 413,300 to 269,905.
Apprentice and trainee completion rates from September 2013 also dropped from 35,900 by 35.86 per cent to 23,025 by September 2017.
The figures from NCVER to the end of December 2018 show the number of apprentices and trainees who commenced training dropped from 71,600 in September 2013 to 33,760 in December 2018, representing a 52.85 per cent fall.
The number of apprentices and trainees in-training dropped from 413,300 in September 2013 to 259,385 in December 2018, resulting in a 37.24 per cent reduction during the time period.
The number of apprentices and trainees who completed their training in September 2013 dropped from 35,900 to 26,780 in December 2018.
What are the reasons for this fall in numbers? Some of the factors are:
We believe the more investment in the public and private training and education organisations and policy and regulatory changes are the only ways to move forward.