96 per cent of employees face barriers when hiring apprentices or trainees: new survey

The Australian Industry Group’s Centre for Education and Training has released new research on the experiences of the employers of Australian apprentices, showing they believe the system is “becoming increasingly costly and complex” at a time where the nation risks “falling well short of delivering the skilled workforce needed to lift our flagging productivity”.

The Ai Group’s Apprenticeships and traineeships: The employer perspective report notes that an urgent and sustained increase in apprenticeship and traineeship commencements and completions was needed, with these appearing to have reverted “to pre-pandemic trends”.

Meanwhile, an “alarming 96 per cent” of employers surveyed for the report (over April and May) said they faced barriers when hiring apprentices and trainees, and two-thirds reported difficulty finding suitable candidates.

Approximately half of those surveyed report employment of apprentices and trainees would reduce if they no longer received financial incentives.

“A skilled workforce that matches employer needs is a critical piece of Australia's productivity uplift. Workforce shortages are already a huge problem, impacting productivity and stopping businesses from running their operations in the most efficient way possible or growing their business,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox in a statement on Thursday.

“To meet current and future skills needs, Australia needs an urgent and sustained increase in the numbers of apprentices and trainees commencing and completing. The work-based learning offered through apprenticeships and traineeships helps ensure the training is relevant and over time leads to a skilled and productive workforce.”

More on the report and its recommendations can be seen here.

Picture: credit TAFE Queensland