The current skill shortages and changes to the Australian labour market caused by an ageing population have necessitated a focus in public policy on increasing workforce participation to deal with the shortage of workers. Recent research by Group Training Australia (GTA) and GTA Victoria is expected to assist in this regard.

What was the nature of the research?

The researchers were interested in examining the supply of applicants for apprenticeship and traineeship vacancies. They were particularly interested in how the applicants were sourced, characteristics such as levels of education and job readiness, the extent to which applications translated into placements and the destination of unsuccessful applicants.

What did the research reveal?

Interestingly, the researchers discovered that many group training organisations (GTOs), depending on their type and location, receive applications well in excess of the number of vacancies they have to fill. This finding itself is contrary to the prevailing view that there are never enough applicants to fill the positions available.
However the researchers also found that the majority of applicants are rejected as unsuitable for the positions for which they are applying. The main reasons for this appear to be levels of literacy or numeracy below an acceptable standard for the position, low levels of general job readiness or unrealistic expectations.

Here we have evidence of young people who want to be apprentices and trainees, an achievement in itself which is perhaps testimony to the effectiveness of our collective efforts to promote the benefits of a trade or a traineeship over recent years, but who are being rejected as unsuitable.

What happens to these people when they are rejected? Do they find other employment? Are they eligible for services from the Job Network that might improve their prospects? No doubt some will find their way into other work or may eventually even find an apprenticeship or traineeship elsewhere but will they complete? We suspect that many of them become part of the large number of young people identified by the Dusseldorp Skills Forum (DSF) and the Australian Industry Group (AiG) in their report It’s Crunch Time who are either not in the labour market or remain only marginally attached to it.

In the current tight labour market we can ill afford to waste such potential. We surely need to maximise workforce participation by working smarter with the people we have. GTA believes that it must be possible to keep these unsuccessful applicants in the recruitment cycle by providing them with training and other options that improve their chances of succeeding in an apprenticeship or traineeship.

Click here to find out how.