Amid surging numbers of apprenticeships, some providers are sounding notes of caution, saying that current growth is not sustainable.
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Figures released last week showed a 114 per cent increase in the amount of people beginning an apprenticeship in the June quarter of 2021, compared with the same quarter in 2020.
This sizeable increase continues a trend in the number of people starting apprenticeships and traineeships since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 150 per cent increase in the December quarter of 2020 was one of the largest increases on record.
Growth was consistent across industry sectors, with trade and non-trade occupations reporting similar increases in commencements. The largest increases were in construction, administrative and support services and accommodation.
Completion figures also rose by 21.2 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2020.
While the national figures paint a picture of a wholescale resurgence in the vocational education sector, Luke Radford, national general manager for Apprenticeship Careers Australia said that he was struggling to find people willing to start apprenticeships in the Illawarra, such is the demand from employers for more apprentices.
"The team in Wollongong are looking for 20-25 vacancies right now, for young people in various trades and are really struggling to get them, even though this is the peak time that we recruit."
The massive growth in apprenticeship commencements is in part driven by the Boosting Apprenticeships Commencements (BAC) program, which subsidises half of an apprentice's wages up to $28,000 per year, and has been welcomed by business groups such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
"The Federal Government's Boosting Apprenticeships Commencements program has been instrumental in reversing the long-term decline in apprenticeship numbers," said ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar.
What Mr Radford is finding on the ground, however, is that employers who instead of hiring an employee are putting on an apprentice, due to the wage subsidy.
"The sector has seen an uptick, which is fantastic, but I can see it crashing as soon as the BAC goes, because employers don't then have this massive $28,000 incentive to be able to employ people."
The future of the BAC program is unclear, with funding only committed until March 2022.
For a more consistent future for vocational education and a way to sustainably address the skills shortage, Mr Radford highlighted that attitudes towards tertiary study needed to change.
"Parents have this utopia of universities, where their son or daughter needs to go, and it's not the case. [When you undertake an apprenticeship] there's no HECS debt, you are getting paid for the four years you are working and there's a shortage of qualified tradespeople out there; that's something that the industry and the VET sector has found quite hard to get across to parents."
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