the growth of female apprentices and trainees and new apprentices

It took nearly 200 years for female participation in the apprenticeship system in Australia to exceed 10%. In 1995 the proportion of females reached 16.5%, following the beginnings of the rollout of traineeships beyond the traditional trades. There has been a rapid rise in female participation since then, with female participation reaching 31% in 2000. There are now over 85 000 female new apprentices. Further improvement is still needed as females make up nearly 45% of the employed workforce in Australia.

the growth in Indigenous apprentices and trainees and new apprentices

There has been a fivefold increase in the number of Indigenous apprentices and trainees in Australia since the mid-1990s:

• the number has risen from 1100 in 1995 to 5100 in 2000
• the number of Indigenous apprentices and trainees as a proportion of the total number has grown from 0.8% in 1995 to 1.9% in 2000

Indigenous participation in new apprenticeships is now commensurate with that of the rest of the Australian population, as Indigenous peoples also make up 1.9% of Australia’s working-age population. However, Indigenous peoples are still not gaining access to all areas of the higher skilled new apprenticeships.

the growth of people of non-English-speaking backgrounds in apprenticeships and traineeships and new apprenticeships

Some 7% of all new apprentices in 2000 reported that they were of non-English-speaking background.The numbers have risen threefold since 1995, from 5600 to 19 000 in 2000.

Yet despite this progress there are far fewer people of non-English-speaking background in the apprenticeship system than there should be, as over 14% of the working-age population in Australia are of non-English-speaking background.

the improving situation for people with disabilities

There has also been a fivefold increase in the number of people with disabilities in the apprenticeship system in the past five years:

• the number has risen from 1000 in 1995 to 5600 in 2000
• this means the proportion of all apprentices and trainees who have reported a disability has risen from 0.8% in 1995 to 2.0% in 2000.

Some 2.3% of the Australian population have a disability that does not involve restrictions in core functions (such as communication difficulties, mobility difficulties or difficulties requiring home care) or in undertaking education or employment. New apprenticeships are now approaching full coverage of this group. The system does not, however, provide coverage for the further 14% of the population who have disabilities involving greater restrictions.