Apprenticeship numbers grew gradually in Australia throughout the 19th and 20th centuries to reach 100 000 at the end of the 1960s.

the first wave of growth, 1973–1976

The first wave of growth in apprenticeships in the modern era was in the 1973 to 1976 period. Apprenticeship numbers grew rapidly from just over 116 000 in 1973 to almost 135 000 in 1976 (figure 1). Despite the global impact of rising oil prices on the Australian economy at the time, apprenticeship numbers jumped 12% between 1973 and 1974 to reach a new record number in response to the introduction in 1973 of the first national scheme providing subsidies for employers to take on apprentices—the National Apprentice Assistance Scheme (NAAS).

Apprenticeship numbers then fell by over 11 000 between 1976 and 1977 in line with the mid-1970s economic downturn.

the second wave of growth, 1977–1982

The second wave of growth in the modern era occurred between 1977 and 1982 (figure 1). Apprentice numbers grew strongly over this five-year period from just over 123 000 in 1977 to reach almost 150 000 by 1982.This was a new record in Australian apprenticeship numbers. Again there was a positive response by employers to the introduction of an enhanced comprehensive national employer incentive scheme in 1977, called the Commonwealth Rebate for Apprentice Full-time Training (CRAFT) scheme.

A recession in the early 1980s saw apprenticeship numbers again fall significantly from just under 148 000 in 1982 to under 129 000 in 1985 (table 1 and figure 1).

the apprenticeship boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s

Increasing concern in the early 1980s about persisting unemployment and the stagnation in apprenticeships at around 130 000 led the government to establish a national inquiry into labour market programs in 1984. Its central proposal was to establish traineeships to complement the apprenticeship system by providing new structured training pathways for youth across a much wider range of occupations that were not covered by apprenticeships.Traineeships were established in 1985. However, the implementation of traineeships was relatively slow, although numbers did grow steadily to reach around 12 000 by 1990 (table 1).

It was apprenticeships that took off in the mid- to late-1980s in response to the rapidly improving Australian economy at the time. Apprenticeship numbers grew from under 130 000 in 1985 to reach an all-time Australian record number of 161 000 in 1990—a number which has not been exceeded since (figure 1 and table 1).

The early 1990s recession in the Australian economy had an enormous impact on apprenticeship numbers.They crashed from 161 000 in 1990 to just over 120 000 three years later. Apprenticeships remained at these historically low levels for some years through the mid-1990s. In the early 1990s traineeships also remained low, being fewer than 10 000 in most years in the early- to mid-1990s (table 1).

the recent boom in apprenticeships, traineeships and new apprenticeships

The fourth wave of growth in apprenticeship and traineeship numbers began in the mid-1990s and has been the biggest period of growth ever witnessed in the history of the system in Australia. Total numbers have grown from just over 131 000 in 1994 to over 275 000 in 2000, a doubling of numbers in only six years (figure 1 and table 1).

Much of this growth has been fuelled by the rapid expansion of traineeships. For instance traineeship numbers grew sixfold in three years, from just under 8000 in 1994 to 48 000 in 1997 (table 1), while apprenticeship numbers remained low during that period.

With the introduction of an integrated new apprenticeship system in 1998, apprenticeship numbers were no longer recorded in the NCVER’s official national statistics.Yet new apprenticeship numbers in the skilled trades have recovered substantially to reach around 140 000 by 2000.This means that traditional apprenticeships recovered very strongly in the late 1990s to reach 140 000—the third highest level in Australia’s history—by 2000. (This number is consistent with the apprenticeship numbers collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics)