The Australian Government’s strategic review of the Australian apprenticeships incentive system is overdue but welcome, according to the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the peak body representing independent providers in the skills training, higher education, and international education sectors.

“This review is timely and necessary, given the significant decline in apprentice and trainee commencements over the past year across sectors including construction, manufacturing through to the healthcare, retail and tourism sectors,” said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.

ITECA says it appreciates the government’s effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the current incentive system and complementary services in promoting the initiation and completion of apprenticeships and traineeships. This evaluation is crucial, the organisation says, especially considering the success of the Boosting Apprentice Commencements (BAC) and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements (CAC) initiatives that were seen as financially unsustainable by some stakeholders.

“Incentives are appealing to employers and have been shown to boost commencement, as well as increase completion rates when properly targeted, but they come with significant costs,” Mr Williams said.

As the review progresses, ITECA says it hopes it will lead to implementing sustainable, long-term solutions that offer employers certainty in workforce planning.

“It’s essential for employers to feel confident and have the certainty that the support available now will remain in place when they are looking to employ their second and third apprentice,” Williams emphasised.

Recent data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research indicates that independent providers played a pivotal role in the apprenticeship and traineeship ecosystem, supporting 51.7% of all apprentices and trainees in training as at of 30 June 2023.