'Tradie crisis' looms as apprentice numbers drop
WARWICK could be in strife as a so-called "tradie crisis” has seen close to half of Queensland apprentices drop out of their training.
In 2017, apprentices and trainees make up just 2.7 per cent of the total workforce, the lowest in a decade.
Despite a demand for skilled trade workers nationwide, nearly 50 per cent of the the young Australians who start an apprenticeship drop out within four years.
National Centre for Vocational Education Research data also shows 56 per cent of apprentices who began training in 2010 had finished working in their trade four years later.
Just one third of apprentices in construction trades, hairdressing or hospitality finished their training in 2015.
One in three construction workers and 15 per cent of hairdressers left within the first year.
More recently, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland highlighted statistics showing the number of Queenslanders in apprenticeships had fallen to just 7800 in December from a whopping 26,600 in June 2012.
The Business Council of Australia, The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Industry Group has called on the Federal Government to overhaul the apprenticeship system to make it more enticing and clear for young people.
The industry groups want to maintain the funding in the current partnership agreement - $1.75 billion over five years - but want it used to distribute better information about TAFE and other training providers to aspiring apprentices and employers.
