Research

Summary page

Research

Project no: nr9021

Publication title: Increasing opportunities for apprenticeships and traineeships in Melbourne's western region

The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers inhibiting the growth of apprenticeships and traineeships in Melbourne’s western region, and to identify strategies to removing these barriers.

Melbourne’s western region, with a population of over half a million people, is one of Australia’s fastest growing economic regions. In 1996 the region provided 140 807 jobs. However, 75% of the 207 722 residents with jobs were employed outside the region.

Manufacturing is the staple industry in the western region of Melbourne¹. There are only 1825 manufacturing businesses in the region, placing it behind retail (4737), property and business services (3887) and construction (2459) in total number of businesses for an industry sector. It is, however, the largest employer in the region.

If transport, warehousing and logistics businesses are included, these key industry sectors will have a direct bearing on the potential growth of employment in the region. If manufacturing is the ‘staple’, transport and logistics are the ‘meaty’ areas of new growth. The number of transport-specific companies located in the region is 1301 and growing². With the completion of the Western Ring Road and the impending completion of City Link³, there is a noticeable increase in the number of transport and transport-related businesses moving into the region (for example, tyre and equipment suppliers, cold storage, refrigeration, packaging and processing, freight management, heavy vehicle mechanics and calibration mechanics).

However, the take-up of apprenticeships and traineeships, both in the manufacturing and transport and logistics sectors of the region, is significantly low. A regional strategy developed by the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) and Ratio Consultants forecasts, that in the next 15 years, the rate of population growth in the west of Melbourne will exceed the rate of job growth by a factor of 5 to 1 (Ratio Consultants & NIEIR 1995).

This forecast highlights the fact that a significant effort must be made to provide the regional community with the best possible ‘platform’ to utilise training and learning opportunities, including VET-in-Schools programs and apprenticeships and traineeships.

This report identifies factors which inhibit the expansion of apprenticeships and traineeships in Melbourne’s west and proposes a way to increase the opportunities to access those forms of structured training and employment.

Outcomes of the report

The first chapter presents the findings and documents the prevailing themes identified through the existing literature, integrating the results of focus groups, interviews and surveys into a comprehensive summary of factors that inhibit the success of apprenticeships and traineeships in this region. This section of the report challenges all participants to make a commitment to providing opportunities for young people by seeking ways of overcoming the barriers that impede their access to the necessary skills and knowledge that will make them a valuable national resource.

The second chapter, ‘Students’, reveals young people’s understanding of apprenticeships and traineeships, and identifies their perceptions and criticisms.

The chapter identifies the struggles young people have in balancing their own expectations with those of others and describes the complex processes and competing interests which influence the advice they receive about career paths and post-school destinations. Perception also plays a major role in determining young people’s attitudes towards apprenticeships and traineeships. The influence of the media is particularly strong in this regard. The following provides a summary of the key issues relating to students identified in this chapter.

Role of the school and dominance of the VCE and university

In some schools there appears to be a concerted effort to educate students about their post-school options, both academic and vocational. At the same time, in a number of other schools, a narrow and traditional ‘academic’ view of the purpose of secondary schooling and possible post-school pathways is widespread.
The reduction in the number of post-school options being contemplated by students is also being reinforced by family pressures to do well in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and gain a high ENTER score and thus a university place, rather than considering apprenticeships and traineeships as a viable alternative.

Career paths

As late as Year 11, some students were unsure of the career paths available to them and the type of post-school destination best suited to them.
There is a significant mismatch between when and how students are exposed to career information and advice.
Students highlighted the pivotal role played by the careers teacher in the process of selecting VCE subjects and post-school destinations
Students spoke highly of school-organised work experience programs as a worthwhile source of practical information about potential careers.

Source and quality of information

The origin and quality of information figured prominently in the comments made by students. Ad hoc and informal sources of information appear to play as important a part in career choice as the formal structures and process associated with school-based careers counselling.

VET-in-Schools programs

Some students were critical of the manner in which their schools managed the delivery of their VET-in-Schools programs. They specifically referred to examples of poor delivery and the inadequate provision of staffing, resources and information as well as the inadequate knowledge base of some of the teachers delivering VET-in-Schools subjects.

Community and media images and perceptions

Some students felt pressure from community and family to succeed in school. Students from Catholic schools in particular spoke about pressure being exerted from home to do well in Year 12 to enable progression to university.
On the other hand, government school students did not appear to be under the same kinds of pressures, and exhibited a disenchantment and lack of engagement with schooling.
An unexpected issue to emerge from our work with secondary school students was the apparent negative impact of the State-government-sponsored WorkCover television advertisements. On the other hand, students identified the armed forces—’The Edge’ campaign as painting a positive image of what constitutes an apprenticeship or a technical job in the armed forces.

The third chapter, ‘Employers in the west’, presents a review of responses to an employer questionnaire. It identifies parallels between the size of an industry and the level of employment of apprentices and trainees and some concerns that the anticipated growth in ‘new’ industries is not evident. There is a significant gap in terms of employer knowledge of the new apprenticeship system. To compound these problems is an apparent reluctance of employers to commit to taking on additional apprentices and trainees in the face of uncertainty surrounding the introduction of the new goods and services tax. A most important finding is the evidence that there is uncertainty, or at best ambivalence, about the benefits to organisations which employ apprentices and trainees. The following summarises the main findings of this chapter in relation to employers.

Structural and economic impediments

The largest industry sectors in the economy such as building and construction, manufacturing, wholesale/retail and transport and storage account for the majority of the apprentices reported in the survey.
Non-traditional sites of engagement of apprentices and trainees, such as information technology and finance, property and business services, are now opening up to trainees and apprentices.
Employers use a combination of informal and formal processes to recruit apprentices.
Uncertainty about the short-to-medium term economic situation has meant that employers are unwilling to commit themselves to doing more than maintaining current levels of apprenticeships and traineeships.

The knowledge gap

Employers identified registered training organisations (RTOs) and the local technical and further education (TAFE) institutions as the primary source of information on apprenticeships.
The proportion of employers reporting that they did understand the concept of apprenticeships (40%), approximately equalled employers who reported that they did not or disagreed (47%).
Employers knew little about part-time apprenticeships or traineeships. This lack of knowledge or awareness of the opportunity to engage part-time apprentices indicates that there is an information deficiency.

Attitudinal impediments

A number of employers were hesitant to make commitments or comments about apprenticeships and traineeships.
The responses to some of the questions reflect the possibility that employers lack useful information about the usefulness of the new apprenticeship scheme for their specific firm or organisation.
Another reason for this hesitancy might be the impact of technological change, the continued increase in productivity and the concomitant downsizing of the labour force in many sectors of the economy.

Work experience

Employers responded positively that school-organised work experience played a factor in the recruitment of new staff.

Chapter four, ‘Employment, education and training perspectives’, reports on the opinions of employers and ITBs about apprentices and trainees. It reveals a litany of problems with the system. This chapter also shows us that we have a system in which some employers use government subsidies to upskill their existing employees, rather than take on young people. This short-sighted solution is done in the face of an ageing workforce—who will be the workforce of the future? The issues highlighted in this chapter are summarised below.

Structural/organisational issues

Employers and ITBs emphasised the need to examine the strategies and methods used to present information about the new apprenticeship scheme to both employers and young people.
The co-ordination and management of the new apprenticeship scheme was also raised in the interviews as needing review and restructuring, in order to make the program more transparent and easy to access and administer.

Skill formation

The need for skills does not necessarily translate into recruitment of new apprentices. It was argued that employers are able to increase productivity and at the same time upskill their workforce without taking on new workers or apprentices.
The new apprenticeship scheme may be used to upskill existing workers, and to help facilitate the segmentation of the existing labour process in particular industries.
The segmentation of workplace training into specialised traineeships has meant that entry-level training, which had been the traditional domain of the four-year apprenticeship in a number of industries, is now seen as having been undermined by short-term and specialised traineeships in these industries.
Representatives of the ITBs highlighted the consequences for the economy of an ageing workforce and short-term planning by some employers. In time, the neglect of skill formation could lead to a shortage of skilled workers.

Schools

Employers and ITBs highlighted the important role schools play in the transition from school to work and the significance of careers counselling in this process.
Respondents also raised the issue that the year students were exposed to vocational education programs was critical.
Some of the ITB representatives were unhappy with the emphasis some schools were placing on VET-in-Schools programs as an introduction to a vocational education pathway.
The emphasis by schools on the VCE and the goal of a high ENTER score were also questioned by employers and ITBs.

The last chapter of this report offers a number of areas for action on the part of the various stakeholders—schools, employers and government.

Finally, the appendices provide a comprehensive literature review and an overview of the methodology employed. The research team used a variety of techniques, including focus groups with secondary school students, distributing a survey to 400 employers, and one-toone interviews with key stakeholders.

1 Statistical details are based upon the 1997 ABS Business Register Count. ^

2 ibid ^

3 City Link is a privately funded electronic tollroad linking three of Melbourne’s freeways, creating routes between Melbourne Airport, the port and industrial centres. ^