Business and industry try to reverse trend as nearly 55 per cent of apprentices drop out

A peak body representing SA’s building and construction industry has launched a new program in the hopes of reversing a worrying trend among apprentices.

Staggering figures show nearly 55 per cent of apprentices drop out before completing their training, in some cases due to a lack of support.

A peak body representing South Australia’s building and construction industry has launched a new program in a bid to turn around the “dismally low completion rates” for construction trade apprenticeships.

Master Builders SA said Keeping Tradies on Track aimed to mentor vulnerable first and second-year apprentices and their employers.

Among its participants is solar panel company BJ Energy.

Owner Benjamin Crisanti believes the dropout rate in his trade is even higher due to the physically demanding and repetitive nature of the work.

BJ Energy owner Benjamin Crisanti said it was difficult to keep apprentices. Picture Brett Hartwig

He has lost two apprentices just this year.

While getting apprentices was easy, retaining them was difficult, he said, in part because some young people were coming into the industry with unrealistic expectations.

“When I was an apprentice, it was a privilege to have a job,” he said.

But he said many businesses also needed to do more to keep apprentices.

Speaking from his own experience as an apprentice, Mr Crisanti said some businesses treated them as “more of a number and cheap labour”, adding this needed to stop.

Mr Crisanti said he went “above and beyond” to try and retain his apprentices, including diversifying the work, paying well above award and organising regular company functions.

He said when apprentices did drop out, there were “big losses” for businesses – especially small businesses.

“It’s a lot of unforeseen costs, a lot of wasted time … building a strong team culture and then having someone leave is a bit of a kick to the guts,” he said.

More broadly, there are significant statewide consequences as SA seeks to attract more than 15,000 new tradies by the end of 2026 to meet housing and infrastructure demands.

Master Builders SA said the attrition of apprentices cost the state tens of millions each year in lost productivity and contributed to the critical skills shortage across the sector.

Keeping Tradies on Track head mentor Nelson Manonella said they launched the program to address the low apprenticeship completion figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.

The program has 120 apprentices taking part and Mr Manonella said they were already seeing benefits, particularly when it came to mental health.

“We’re coming to understand that across society mental health is a fairly big part of impacting people’s lives,” he said. “That’s one of the discoveries of this mentoring program, that there is a proportion of … people that are involved in the trades that require and would appreciate some form of mental health support.”

Ethan Sims, a first-year carpentry apprentice taking part in the program, said it was “nice to have someone who cares about you”.

“They can lead you in the right direction … which makes it easier for apprentices to finish their trade,” he said.