Apprentice Numbers Up But Not In Right Areas

The Age

Tuesday March 8, 2005

By MISHA SCHUBERT, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, CANBERRA

On the surface a revival of skilled trades appears to be under way, but some occupations are missing out

EXTRA cash incentives for hiring apprentices and more TAFE places are needed to fix Australia's shortage of skilled tradespeople, according to employers.

Calls for action came as new data showed a boom in apprentice numbers - but with most of the growth in industries where there are no skill shortages.

Sectors in desperate need - such as plumbing and carpentry where skilled labour shortfalls have sent costs soaring - hired 2000 fewer apprentices in the three years to 2003, the Skills For Work report found.

Employers want the Howard Government to take a fresh look at the costs to business of training apprentices in traditional trades. They urged boosting cash incentives and extending regional cash bonuses.

"It won't be turned around quickly - a lot is being done but there's a lot more that needs to be done," said Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout.

"We need to focus on the incentive regime. Regional incentives should be extended to city areas with similar shortages, higher incentives should be paid to people who take on more skill-rich apprenticeships."

Other employer groups cited concerns about training "bottlenecks" caused by a lack of federal and state funds for Technical and Further Education colleges.

"What we are seeing now is an emerging problem of waiting lists to get into TAFE colleges in certain trades - bricklaying and carpentry especially," said Housing Industry Association Victorian executive director Graham Wolfe. "We need more resources so TAFE colleges can meet that demand."

Labor education and training spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said Government neglect had let the skills crisis escalate.

"The Howard Government has really dropped the ball over the last nine years and hasn't made sure that young people going into training are going in in the traditional trades," she said.

But Vocational Education Minister Gary Hardgrave said there had been a 19 per cent jump in traditional trade apprenticeships in the year since the period studied in the Skills For Work report.

"I'm delighted with this strong growth in the last reporting period, with 68,500 trades new apprentices commencing in the last year," he said.

Prime Minister John Howard said his Government had boosted funds for vocational education by 35.5 per cent between 1997 and 2003.

Labor leader Kim Beazley yesterday said the Government should urge students to stay at school and get the states to back them. "The longer you keep young people in training, the longer you keep them in school, the better the chance you have of them making a life choice that's right - right for the country and right for themselves," he said.

NATIONAL AND STATEWIDE SHORTAGES

Metal fitters

Metal machinists

Metal fabricators

Welders

Toolmakers

Sheet metal workers

Motor mechanics

Auto electricians

Panel beaters

Vehicle painters

Electricians

Carpenters (Melbourne)

Bricklayers (Melbourne)

Plasterers (Melbourne)

Plumbers

Hairdressers

Furniture upholsterers

Child-care workers

Registered nurses

SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, DECEMBER 2004

© 2005 The Age

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