Getting It Right: what employers and apprentices have to say about apprenticeships, October 2005

Getting it Right: what employers and apprentices have to say about apprenticeships, was commissioned by three leading organizations with a shared interest in skills development – the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), Dusseldorp Skills Forum (DSF) and Group Training Australia (GTA). The report, by Dr Phillip Toner of the Australian Expert Group in Industry Studies, examined what was motivating employers and young people to choose trade apprenticeships. Dr Toner and his team spoke directly to employers and apprentices, surveyed 1500 NSW firms that had taken on apprentices and conducted a number of focus groups with young apprentices.

The report finds that there is a range of factors that have influenced employer behaviour in employing more apprentices of late but the single most important one, by a considerable margin, is that there has been no alternative – the combined effect of skills shortages and high economic growth has forced many employers back into training.

There is every indication from the employers surveyed in our research that, while economic growth continues at its current rate, this training effort will be maintained. We are keen to ensure that this is so, and have looked to the research to give some clues as to what policies might be implemented to ensure that we train with the future in mind, especially if economic growth does not continue at current rates.

We hope therefore that you will find the key messages in this report of interest and of use in developing your thinking about what needs to be done to make skills shortages a less pressing problem in future.

A copy of the report, and the media release and its accompanying Joint Statement can be downloaded here.