The number of apprentices completing their four-year training last year has fallen, a national research body found.
The number of apprentices completing their four-year training last year has fallen slightlM, a national research body found.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research today released a report showing 54.8 per cent of apprentices and trainees who started in 2019 completed their training.
This completion rate is down 1 per cent compared to the cohort of apprentices and trainees who started their program in 2018.
However, individual completion rates for trade occupations went up by 0.7 per cent for apprentices starting in 2019.
Electrotechnology and telecommunications trades had the highest individual apprentice completion rate at 61.8 per cent, followed by automotive and engineering at 57.6 per cent.
The completion rate for construction trades workers also had a small uptick at 53.9 per cent, compared to the cohort starting their apprenticeship in 2018.
“Research shows apprentices and trainees do not complete their training for a range of employment and personal reasons,” the report reads.
“Changed business conditions can affect an employer’s ability to support training, while personal circumstances and choices made by apprentices and trainees also play a role.
“NCVER research shows that the most common employment reasons apprentices and trainees left training in 2022 included dissatisfaction with pay or working conditions, and being offered a better job.
“The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant disruption for apprentices and employers, which may have impacted completion rates.”
In its report, the NCVER estimated a further downfall on the completion rate for apprentice and trainee contracts that started in the December 2023 quarter.
The NCVER projected a 47.7 per cent completion rate for all occupations.
The centre has estimated a 46.1 per cent completion rate for the cohort starting their training in 2021, and 49 per cent for the 2022 group.
Earlier this year, Skills and Training minister Brendan O'Connor announced the federal government's Apprentice Connect Australia initiative to address areas of support needed during the early stages of the training.
The targeted mentoring aims to boost diversity in the country's workforce and includes personalised pastoral care, career advice, and peer support networks.
“Personalised mentoring support, especially in the first two years, can significantly improve completion rates," Mr O'Connor said in July.
“This investment will help more apprentices develop a sustainable career pathway.”
