SA apprentice, trainee numbers increase by almost 30 per cent
South Australia has experienced a nation-leading surge in the number of apprentices and trainees enrolled in Vocational Education and Training courses.
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The number of apprentices and trainees enrolled in Vocational Education and Training courses in South Australia surged by almost 30 per cent in a year – the highest percentage increase in the nation.
New data released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research shows 10,185 apprentices and trainees were enrolled in VET courses in SA in the first six months 2019 – up by 2280, or 28.8 per cent, compared to the first half of last year.
Innovation and Skills Minister David Pisoni said the state’s percentage increase was the “largest nationally” and attributed it to an extra 500 courses being subsided by the State Government as well as an increase in the popularity of Tafe SA programs.
He also said the NCVER figures showed government-funded VET activity rose by 22.2 per cent overall, which represented 48,415 students – an increase of 8790 compared to 2018.
“While there is always more work to be done to repair the training system, it is encouraging to see South Australia’s percentage increase was the second largest nationally, and was 15.3 percentage points above the national increase of 6.9 per cent,” Mr Pisoni said.
“Contributing to this increase are factors such as the growth in TAFE SA enrolments and also growth in non-government training provider activity supported through an expanded Subsidised Training List, up from 350 courses to over 850.”
Mr Pisoni said the increase in the number of apprentices and trainees enrolled in VET courses “comes on the back of the first year of Skilling South Australia initiative, which saw almost 13,000 new apprenticeship and traineeship commencements, which achieved 96 per cent of our first year target”.
“Importantly, 700 South Australian businesses have taken on an apprentice for the first time – which is a huge vote of confidence in the South Australian economy,” he said.
Mitchell Manning was recently employed as a school-based apprentice with George Henry Homes.
“Just being able to have school and also come out and do a real job … I’m just loving it,” he said.
Opposition industry and skills spokeswoman Clare Scriven said the State Government was spinning the figures in a “sad attempt to try to disguise the fact that apprenticeships and traineeships figures have increased by only 115 since David Pisoni became Minister (in March 2018), well short of the promised 20,800 new additional apprenticeships over the next 4 years”.
“The additional ‘activity’ that Minister Pisoni is bragging about includes short pre-apprenticeship and pre-traineeship courses lasting between four and nine weeks,” she said. “These do not offer long term job stability and are not what the people of South Australia expect to be called apprenticeships.”
Mr Pisoni hit back, saying Labor “either doesn’t understand how the NCVER’s reporting method works or they are deliberately attempting to mislead South Australians”.