School-based Traineeships and Apprenticeships :: A winning formula

Submission from Kylie Newey, Flagstone Community College.

Recent reports released by the Federal Minister for Tertiary Education and Workplace Relations have shown that the number of young Australians entering in to full time apprenticeships and traineeships increased nationally by 33.4 per cent last year despite the economic down turn. In Queensland commencements were only up 4.2%, which is a large shortfall from the national average. Cancellations were also up by 2.9%, but the good news is completions were up by 6.8%.

These commencement trends unfortunately did not translate in to School-based Traineeships and Apprenticeships (SATs).

So what does this all mean?

Employers are still not grasping the concept of SATs and how in the long term, they are great for business.

• Students who enter into a SAT do so as part of their schooling.

• In most cases, the government pays for the training while the student remains at school saving the company this expense.

• Majority of students who enter in to an apprenticeship while at school complete the first year of the apprenticeship (which has the lowest wages), while still living at home with few living expenses. This converts to significantly fewer cancellations!

• An employer still attracts government incentives for taking on an apprentice, and the student still gets tool allowances where applicable.

Taking a student on as a trainee or apprentice makes sense for both the business, and the student. But spreading the word about this program cannot be left up to the school alone – we need your help.

Kylie Newey, Industry Liaison Officer, Flagstone Community College, Ph: 5547 9325 | Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it