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Category: Apprenticeships / Alp / Liberals / Federal Government / Federal Elections / Business, Economics and Finance / Government and Politics

Parties trade blame as apprenticeship numbers fall

Tuesday, 28 Jun 2016 14:29:43 | Louise Yaxley

Business groups say they are worried about the fall in apprenticeships (ABC News: Cathy Jacobs)

Labor says Australia's apprenticeship system is in crisis, with figures showing a halving in the number of apprenticeships in capital cities.

Key points:

  • ALP blames big fall on the Government cutting $1 billion from programs
  • Prime Minister says it is legacy of changes Labor made when in office
  • Number of apprentices at the end of December last year down nearly 12 per cent


The ALP blames the big fall on the Federal Government cutting $1 billion from programs to encourage people to take up trades.

Audio: Listen to Louise Yaxley's story (The World Today)

But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the fall is a legacy of changes that Labor made when it was in office.

Figures from the Education Department show the number of apprentices and trainees in-training at the end of December last year was down nearly 12 per cent on the previous year.

The statistics reveal the number of people completing their trade training fell by 24 per cent in the same period.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the figures showed Mr Turnbull was unable to live up to his "jobs and growth" slogan.

"It's most disturbing to see the revelations that the Australian apprenticeship system is collapsing," Mr Shorten said.

"It is in crisis. In the electorate of Eden-Monaro, there are 727 less apprentices than there were before the Liberals were elected.

"In the western suburbs of Melbourne where I live, there's 5,000 less apprentices than there were before the Liberals were elected.

"And if you look at western Sydney, the collapse has been 10,000 net less apprentices than there were before the Liberals were elected."

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann blamed cuts Labor had made when it was in office.

"Labor is absolutely shameless in this campaign," he said.

"They cut more than $1.2 billion worth of funding supporting apprenticeships, which led to a significant drop in commencements when it comes to apprenticeships on their watch.

"Fast-forward two or three years and the lag effect of the significant drop that occurred on their watch is playing out.

"We have made significant efforts to turn that situation around and already we can see the green shoots of increases in commencements of apprenticeships across a whole range of areas."

Industries reliant on tradespeople concerned

Labor's trade spokeswoman Sharon Bird said Labor's changes whilst in government had aimed to target the apprenticeship system to areas where there were skill shortages.

"For example fast food outlets were using traineeships rather than just directly employing young people and training them themselves — so we did tighten the criteria," she said.

"But we also put in place a whole range of programs to make sure that the in-demand trades, the skills shortage trades, were supported and continue to be able to grow.

"Things like mentoring programs, access programs for young people who weren't quite ready for the apprenticeships but needed some additional work, a tools, equipment payment for apprentices with a cost — all those were cut by the Liberal Government."

The Housing Industry Association said the facts were complex but the consequences were real, saying the drop in apprenticeship positions added unnecessary risk to national economic performance.

The Australian Industry Group said the apprenticeship numbers were worryingly low and without urgent and meaningful intervention, the system in Australia would continue to underperform and fail to deliver for businesses and the community.

AustraliaPlus


 

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