Aging Australian apprentices need ‘serious debate’ about wages amid national skills shortage
From sparkies to hairdressers, many apprentices are earning less than the minimum wage - even if they’ve long left high school. See how the pay rates stack up.
Education
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The dire state of apprentice wages requires a “serious debate” industry leaders say, with only half of apprentices completing their training in the midst of a national skilled worker shortage.
From sparkies to hairdressers, apprentices are often paid far below the minimum wage ($21.38 per hour), and are paid less still if they were under the age of 21 when they started their training.
A first year apprentice carpenter, for example, may earn as little as $13.62 per hour, 35 per cent less than the national minimum wage.
Gary Workman, executive director of Victoria’s Apprenticeship Employment Network, said part of the problem is that apprentices are getting older and aren’t being encouraged to take up a trade during their school years.
More than one in five apprentices are aged between 20 and 24.
“The average age of our apprentices is 22-23 years old. People complain that it’s not enough wage to live on, and I’d probably agree with that,” he said.
“But the apprenticeship system was designed to take in people at 15, 16-years-old. If we go back to the way it was originally designed 50 years ago … we won’t have the same issues.”
Second year electrotechnology student Jade Johnson was forced to shop around for her current apprenticeship, having started off earning just $14.50 per hour doing domestic rewiring work known as ‘house bashing’.
The 22-year-old now works for a company that manages Sydney Water facilities, including Malabar’s wastewater treatment plant, but travels there from her family home in Windsor after being priced out of the rental market.
“Now I take home $22.50 per hour. I get paid a bit more than the average … but it’s still not enough to live on,” she said.
“Pretty much my whole wage goes into travelling, so I basically work for nothing. In a week, if I take toll roads, it’s $350. After helping out my family, sometimes I might have 50 bucks left over.”
It’s “ridiculous”, Ms Johnson said, that apprentices can be as old as 24-years-old and still not be eligible for an adult wage.
“Sometimes it does make me think, am I doing the right thing? I’ve got mates who are buying places and I’m like, shit, I’m still earning a child’s wage,” she said.
In NSW the number of trade apprenticeship commencements fell by 11 per cent in the 12 months to September 2022, while cancellations and withdrawals rose 12.9 per cent.
Internal government reports and submissions from industry groups have consistently cited financial barriers as a deterrent from taking up – or finishing – apprenticeships and traineeships.
Australian Flexible Pavement Association executive Tanja Conners said cost of living is having an “undeniable” impact on the trainees who are vital to the nation’s infrastructure pipeline.
“The rise is no doubt … making it even more challenging for those who are at the beginning of their careers to complete the training necessary to deliver critical infrastructure,” she said.
National Apprentice Employment Network CEO Dianne Dayhew agreed circumstances have “gotten tougher” for young tradespeople, but said the short term financial pain would be worth the long term gain.
“By the time they reach 25, apprentice graduates are earning more than university graduates, they are happier in their jobs and they are not saddled with a big student debt,” she said.
Independent Tertiary Education Council CEO Troy Williams admitted it’s currently “very difficult” to live on apprentice wages, and said “there is a broader debate to be had”, but simply passing on the increase to businesses puts would-be employers in a vulnerable position.
Instead, he backed a bill introduced last week in parliament which would expand income contingent government loans to help apprentices and trainees with cost of living.
“There’s a whole heap of different pieces to this puzzle, and no single magic bullet,” he said.
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