The expansion and contraction of the apprenticeship system in Australia, 1985-2020

Abstract

This paper chronicles and analyses the expansion and contraction of the Australian apprenticeship system from 1985 to 2020. The system expanded from a small number of occupations, mainly in craft and manufacturing areas, to include many other occupations, notably in the different types of service sectors. The expansion was achieved primarily through a new type of apprenticeship, known as a traineeship, to augment the existing more traditional apprenticeships. Since 2012, the system has contracted considerably, and the participation rate of women has been affected disproportionately. The period of expansion of the system was book-ended by two major governmentinstigated documents, in 1985 and 2011. In 1985 a Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into Labour Market Programs proposed the introduction of traineeships, and in 2011 an Expert Panel on Apprenticeships sought to reduce numbers through the application of specific criteria for government support, which primarily affected the occupations served by traineeships. Two sources of evidence are used to examine the expansion and contraction of the apprenticeship system: data from the national apprenticeship statistics collection maintained by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and key government reports over the 35 years. A brief overview of COVID-19-related developments in 2020 is included.

Apprentices’ Attitudes Toward Using a Mental Health Mobile App to Support Healthy Coping: Mixed Methods Study

“…In Australia, there were approximately 400,000 individuals commencing apprenticeships or in apprenticeship training in 2020, with about 70% aged under 25 [2]. Men are more likely to enter into apprenticeships than women, with the construction, electrical, and metals and vehicle industries being the largest trade apprenticeship areas [3]. Workers employed in these male-dominated industries or occupations (eg, construction, transport and utilities, mining, and manufacturing) are at higher risk than the general population for psychological distress [4], depression [5], alcohol-and drug-related harms [6], and suicide [7].…”

Apprenticeships: The problem of attractiveness and the hindrance of heterogeneity

“…No other form of evaluation of the program has occurred. A complication in evaluating impact is that apprentice numbers fell considerably from 2012 until 2019 (the last year unaffected by COVID), primarily due to specific funding issues (as described in Smith, 2021). Artisan-South Africa (2014-2024 The Decade of the Artisan scheme was launched in 2014 by the South African Department and Higher Education and Training (DHET).…”

“…Women and girls may be discriminated against (European Commission, 2012) or may not find an apprenticeship in an occupational area attractive to them. Sometimes, apprenticeships in more feminized occupations are seen as inferior (e.g., Chankseliani et al, 2017; Duemmler & Caprani, 2017; Smith, 2021).…”

“…These different stakeholders have differing roles and differing degrees of power in designing and implementing apprenticeship systems (Deissinger & Gonon, 2015); their views are often strongly held, and create resistance to proposed changes. This resistance has created opposition to measures to improve attractiveness in some countries, such as, in the United Kingdom and Australia, policy changes to expand the range of occupations included in apprentice systems, or to include mature people in apprenticeships (e.g., Fuller & Unwin, 2003; Smith, 2021). Such matters mean that apprenticeship systems may be subject to constant and unpredictable change.…”

“…It is also important, for employers who seek to employ apprentices, that applicants are of good quality, which will only occur if apprenticeship is seen as an attractive option. Yet absolute numbers of apprentices have been declining in the long term in many countries, for example in Australia and Canada (Smith, 2021; Watt, 2021) and even in Germany (e.g., Deissinger, 2017). This trend was occurring even before COVID‐19 affected numbers.…”