Living in the western suburbs of Sydney, Zac thought that getting an apprenticeship was the best way to learn a skill and secure a job.
Key points:
- Businesses and unions have reached a consensus to address key issues around training and learning
- It will be raised at the Jobs and Skills Summit at the end of the week
- The government will be urged to lift wage subsidies for apprentices and then provide payments to workers and employers when training is completed.
“I’ve always been good with electrical stuff,” he said.
“I’ve always been playing with things and taking things apart and putting them back together.”
But after 18 months as a sparky apprentice, he quit because he couldn’t afford to live on his paltry salary.
“Seventeen dollars an hour, I think I was making about $700 a week.
“I would almost like to go back if the pay was better and the working conditions were better.”
He then tried his hand at carpentry, but again found the wages and conditions unsustainable.
“I had to move tons of asbestos and they didn’t give me notice. They didn’t pay me extra. They didn’t give me safety clothes or anything like that,” he said.
“I just had to do it and shut up, basically.”
Zac’s case is not unique: the apprenticeship completion rate is currently around 55% and has been for a long time.
According to Dianne Dayhew, of the National Apprentice Employment Network, this is completely unacceptable.
“Apprentices, when they start working, are vulnerable,” he said.
“They are often straight from school, entering an adult world and need extra support.”
The Federal Government will deliver on one of its election promises this week by holding a jobs and skills summit aimed at tackling the national skills shortage.
On one issue, companies and unions have already reached a consensus: something needs to be done about training and apprenticeships.
With skilled workers in short supply, unions and business groups are calling on the federal government to raise wage subsidies for apprentices and then pay workers and employers when training is completed.
TAFE cuts have taken their toll
Unions and businesses are pushing for greater investment in TAFE. (ABC News: Dan Cox)
Unions agree that something has to change.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said “apprentices are paid appallingly”.
“We’re not attracting people to do these jobs because they can’t live on these wages,” he said.
There is a concerted push for significant investment in education and vocational training.
“Investing in TAFE and VET is part of productivity,” he said.
“Part of how you become a more productive country is investing in people so they can use the skills.”
Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said it was clear persistent cuts to TAFE had taken their toll.
“We have seen courses close or campuses close and TAFE teachers lose their jobs.
“This has had a direct impact on students wanting to pursue vocational training and has in fact contributed to the skills shortage Australia now faces.”
With more than 100 representatives expected to attend the Jobs and Skills Summit, it will be difficult to address all competing interests in just two days.
But Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor said an early consensus on apprenticeships made the government’s job easier.
“There is no time to waste,” he said.
“There is an important reform that will take longer because it is structural and systemic, but there are also things we can do very quickly.
“And if you have a common purpose across stakeholders, then it’s easier for government, and I’m sure we’ll see some very important outcomes coming out of the Jobs and Skills Summit this week.”