The number of Victorians taking up apprenticeships dropped by 11 per cent last year.
New figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research show there were 63,600 in-training apprentices in Victoria in 2015, compared to 71,500 the previous year.
Victoria Polytechnic director Peter Jacobson attributed the drop to fewer federal government incentives for prospective apprentices and employers looking to hire them.
Three years ago, the federal government overhauled the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program, bringing cuts to employer incentive payments.
More recent changes include the 2014 abolition of a Tools for Your Trade program, which gave apprentices $5500 to help them purchase expensive tools and equipment.
“It goes back to the fact that they used to have sign-up offers for employers of up to $5000,” Mr Jacobson said.
“Employers have thought, is it really worth signing up an apprentice?”
Adrian Pentony, who runs Victoria Polytechnic’s certificate III in signage course at Sunshine, said the removal of a host of federally funded support programs for apprentices, including the tools and living-away-from-home allowances, were partly behind the decline.
“I think there’s also been a lack of interest from kids in apprenticeships, and I don’t know where that’s coming from,” he said.
Mr Pentony said he received at least two calls a week from employers wanting to sign up an apprentice, but he didn’t have enough students to meet demand.
Training and Skills Minister Steve Herbert said in State Parliament the only positive to come from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research figures was that the decline in Victoria was less than occurring nationally.
“When it comes to the construction trade, some of the high-end apprentices … the news is relatively good, with apprenticeships and traineeships increasing by 20 per cent in Victoria in 2015,” Mr Herbert said.
