The number of people starting a traineeship reached an all time high in the December quarter 2010, but the number of new trade apprentices appears to have levelled off.
Released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), Apprentices and trainees – early trend estimates, December quarter 2010, provides seasonally adjusted data at the national level for trade and non-trade commencements for apprenticeships and traineeships.
Throughout 2010 the trend of increasingly strong numbers of new trainees continued, with 57 200 traineeship commencements in the December quarter.
While the number of new trade apprentices has returned to levels seen before the global financial crisis, trade apprenticeship commencements appear to have stabilised, with about 24 000 new trade apprentices enrolled in each of the last two quarters.
NCVER will release comprehensive data for the September quarter 2010 in late February. This data provides information at national and state/territory levels for in-training, completion and cancellations and withdrawals.
Copies of Australian vocational education and training statistics: Apprentices and trainees – early trend estimates, December quarter 2010 is available from www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2347.html
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