Decline in apprenticeships for skills needed for South Australia’s defence industry

South Australia has recorded a concerning drop in the number of people starting apprenticeships in skills that will be needed for the state’s defence sector.

South Australia has recorded a concerning drop in the number of people starting engineering, information technology and science technician apprenticeships – skills that will be needed for the state’s defence sector.

Latest figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) show just 65 people took up an apprenticeship in those areas in the June 2023 quarter, which dropped from 215 the previous year.

The data shows a 69 per cent decrease – but the government has accused the opposition of “cherry picking” figures that do not reflect the whole picture.

Across South Australia’s training sector, there was a 60 per cent drop across all apprenticeship and trainee commencements – the largest drop in the nation.

Questioned about the figures this week in parliament, Training and Skills Minister Blair Boyer called the training system “exceptionally inefficient”.

“It is about one in two who make it through from commencement to completion,” he said.

Opposition education spokesman John Gardener said apprenticeship and traineeship commencements were “going backwards” under the Labor government.

“For South Australia to experience a 69 per cent drop in shipbuilding related apprenticeships since Peter Malinauskas and Labor were elected is alarming to say the least,” he said.

“For the state to gear up for the Hunter-class frigate program and AUKUS, we must have the modern skilled workforce it requires – but potential apprentices are losing opportunities because of Labor’s policies.”

South Australia has recorded a concerning drop in the number of people starting engineering, information technology and science technician apprenticeships Photo: Andrew Linnett.

But Mr Boyer said, during the four years the Liberals were in government, “they waged war on TAFE, cut courses and closed campuses”.

“They did absolutely nothing to develop a skilled workforce in this state and this pathetic cherry picking of figures is an example of their lack of understanding of the skills sector and their ineptitude when it comes to skills policy,” he said.

“If we compare trade and engineering figures to pre-covid – the actual representations of the sector before the opposition was bailed out by the federal government’s covid stimulus package in 2020 – we’re actually seeing jumps of almost 40 per cent overall.

“And in engineering, ICT and science it’s a jump of more than 200 per cent.”

Mr Boyer said the government has maintained a focus on increasing completion rates.