The future of apprenticeships in Australia
Apprenticeships have always been critical to skilling a future Australian workforce. Traineeships and apprenticeships are an important way to encourage young people to learn a wide range of skills to support their career prospects, while delivering significant benefit to the companies that invest in them – never truer than in the wake of the pandemic.
The economic crisis brought about by COVID-19 was something governments around the world were ill prepared for. For Australia, border closures further exacerbated a significant skills shortage in the Australian workforce. In an effort to offer emergency support for the economy and maintain employment, the Australian government launched generous funding initiatives – including Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements – in recognition that apprentices, trainees and workers building their skills were key to delivering a stronger future economy.
Federal Budget 2022 supports future apprenticeships
The 2022 Federal Budget continues the commitment. While rolling back the more generous incentives launched during the pandemic, the government is maintaining recent momentum to support future apprenticeship activity, targeting areas of skills need into the future. Most notably, the government replaces the short-term scheme initiated during COVID-19 with the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System from 1 July 2022, which will focus on supporting commencement and completions in Australian Apprenticeship Priority List occupations. The Government has also committed to support eligible employers and apprentices located in regional and remote areas, in order to boost completion numbers and grow regional economies.
A further initiative to increase diversity in apprenticeship intakes and trades more generally in the future is earmarked to encourage women to step into apprenticeships. It will focus on boosting participation of women in non-traditional trade occupations and include priority occupations like bricklayers, carpenters and electricians.
Shoring up the future skills of Australia’s workforce
Like our government, we believe that apprenticeships are of crucial and continuing importance to the Australian economy – and to the success of our industry. By involving young people in a company environment and providing hands-on learning from experienced tradespeople, apprentices gain the skills and experience to will help them succeed in their chosen career path. Many apprenticeships are followed by work placements, as companies take in the talented young generation they’ve helped to teach.
We also believe that by supporting apprenticeships, companies like us can help Australia compete on a global scale in sectors like defence, data security and technology. Being competitive in innovation and technological development support company growth and expansions, in turn feeding back into the economy and creating even more apprenticeship positions.
Passionate about apprentices!
At Alliance SI, we are passionate about helping to shape young people’s learning experiences through successful apprenticeship programs. In our experience, apprentices have contributed to the company’s productivity and improved our business practices, enabling experienced staff to concentrate on key areas of work while our apprentices manage other daily tasks. Apprentices can also bring a fresh approach to the workplace – their willingness to learn can bring new ideas and fresh insights to the team as a whole.
Contact our HR team if you’re interested to learn more about the benefits of an apprenticeship with Alliance SI. We’re always looking for people who have a willingness to learn, a desire to innovate and an ability to work well with others. We love people who are as passionate about learning as we are, with an inquisitive nature and a desire to apply their skills outside of the classroom.