The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) says it has been warning the Federal Government for two years that the large reductions to incentives to employ apprentices was going to result in a dramatic drop-off in the number of opportunities offered by employers.
ACCI's director of employment, education and training Jenny Lambert said it was of no comfort that these predictions have become reality. "Last week's budget supported funding for new apprenticeship pathways," Ms Lambert said, "but failed to restore the incentives that establish the apprenticeship in the first place.
"Apprenticeships are an investment in the future for both the economy and for the apprentice. The government's own advisory body on skills, the Australian Workplace and Productivity Agency in its Future Focus report released earlier this year has forecast that Australia will need to significantly step up its training effort in order to meet the needs of the future labour market, yet these figures show that we are doing the reverse.
"The apprenticeship model, which integrates structured training with on-the-job work experience, has been proven in practice and through academic evidence as the best form of skills development. Up until now, Australia has had a proud tradition of encouraging this form of training, and for most licensed trades, it is the only avenue to obtain a valuable licence. Yet, the incentive changes and recent government support in the Fair Work Commission for the ACTU's claim to dramatically increase first-year wage rates for apprentices work in the opposite direction.
"It is illogical and unsubstantiated by research that reductions in incentives and a wage increase for apprentices would 'fix' the skilled shortages in this country. It will, in reality, do the reverse, by discouraging employers from creating opportunities for apprentices to be employed. At a time when most sectors of the economy are weak, the government needs to step up to the plate and incentivise more employers, rather than doing the opposite.
"Australia needs to do everything possible to encourage more businesses to employ apprentices, particularly in the many trades necessary to secure a strong a productive economy in the future, Ms Lambert said.
