Mature apprentices bucking trade industry trends
The take-up of trades may be dropping across Australia, but there is one group of workers who are bucking the trend in Victoria and Queensland.
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The take-up of trades may be dropping, but mature-age apprentices are bucking the trend.
About 3700 Australians aged 25 to 44 began a trade apprenticeship or traineeship last September quarter, representing a 6.6 per cent increase year on year, according to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.
The trend was particularly pronounced in Victoria, where commencements were up 18.5 per cent (1090 commencements in the September quarter), and in Queensland where they were up 12.8 per cent (925).
Vantage Automotive corporate services general manager Gary Davenport said the automotive trades were “all-inclusive” trades.
His training centre had first-year apprentices ranging in age from 16 to 35, with the older apprentices often those who had taken redundancies in another sector before moving into an automotive career.
“In today’s era of technology … you could be 50 years old and have a bad back (but still be employed as an apprentice) because the likelihood of manually handling engines and gearboxes is far less likely,” he said.
“You are more likely to be working with computer equipment and diagnosing faults.”
Davenport said the automotive workforce was becoming more diverse in general.
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The NCVER data revealed about 2000 women and 800 Indigenous Australians began trade qualifications across all trades in the September quarter, accounting for about 13 per cent and 5 per cent of commencements, respectively.
East Coast Apprenticeships’ (ECA) recently-launched marine welding traineeships attracted a wide range of applicants, with the chosen participants including Indigenous Australians, ex-Defence members, school leavers, newly-settled Australians and both males and females.
ECA chief executive Alan Sparks says some have welding experience but not all.
“It’s a very exciting sector to be involved in, dealing with toys owned by some of the richest people in the world,” he says.
The federally-funded pilot program produced in partnership with TAFE Queensland aims to train welders for the emerging superyacht sector by offering participants a Certificate II in Engineering Pathways followed by three weeks of an Intensive Aluminium Weld Program and two weeks of an industry placement.
Sarina Russo Job Access manager Jodie McLerie, who placed four of the jobseekers into these roles, said they would never have to look for another job as there were skill shortages in the sector.
“A career in marine welding is a job for life,” she said.
“It’s a niche industry with an intricate skill set for which the demand is insatiable.”
Trainee welder Brenton Wolffe, who signed up for the traineeship after a career in Defence, said people had pushed him towards security of office jobs because of his background but these did not suit him.
“I had thought about welding but never had an opportunity to get into it,” he said.
“It’s always good when you can see something come together from beginning to finish.”
Fellow trainee Kirsty Lissa, who is making a career change from hairdressing, said she was keen to try something completely different.
“I’ve actually got a little bit of a knack for it, which is really good,” she said.
“A lot of friends have asked why I’m doing it especially because it’s dirty and I’m super clean but it’s not like you’re going out rolling around in the mud.
“In five years or so, I could be working on superyachts and that’s pretty amazing.”
READ MORE EMPLOYMENT NEWS IN THE CAREERS SECTION IN SATURDAY’S THE COURIER-MAIL, THE ADVERTISER, THE HERALD SUN AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.
Originally published as Mature apprentices bucking trade industry trends
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