Description
School-based apprentices and trainees have recently been given more prominence as an element of vocational education and training in school, partly as a response to skill shortages in a wide range of areas. The purpose of this paper is to provide data on school-based apprentices and trainees to enable a judgement to be made about how this policy push is unfolding. The number of school-based apprentices and trainees is small but growing rapidly, numbers are concentrated in retail and hospitality training packages. Completion rates are lowest in the trades.
Summary
About the research
Vocational education and training (VET) has been seen to be an important element of school education for some time now. More recently, school-based apprentices and trainees have been given more prominence as an element of VET in Schools, partly as a response to skill shortages in a wide range of areas. The purpose of this short paper is to provide data on school-based apprentices and trainees to enable a judgement to be made about how this policy push is unfolding.
Key messages
- The number of school-based apprentices and trainees is still small compared with all young apprentices and trainees.
- The number of school-based apprentices and trainees is growing rapidly. Numbers vary considerably by state, with Queensland and Victoria leading the way.
- School-based apprenticeships and traineeships are concentrated in the retail and hospitality training packages and are more likely to be at certificates I and II level than at certificate III and above level.
- Completion rates for school-based apprentices and trainees are a little higher than for their non-school peers at the certificates I and II level, but lower for certificate III level. The lowest certificate III completion rates for the school-based apprentices and trainees are in the trades.
- Early attrition is low among school-based apprentices and trainees, suggesting that drop-out after completing school is relatively high.
Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER