A survey released last week shows four in ten apprentices could lose their jobs by the end of the year without a significant expansion of programs such as JobKeeper.
The Federal Government needs to urgently act to protect Australia’s 180,000 trade apprentices from the economic effects of the Coronavirus .
Business across the region has declined due to the pandemic in many areas where apprentices are employed.
Training an apprentice can take up to four years. It is a major investment towards the future yet, it is a fundamental requirement for our collective wellbeing and security.
Apprenticeships train all sorts of people in our community, from plumbers and electricians to hairdressers, hospitality and motor mechanics, the list is enormous.
While it needs support from the Federal Government to make the training affordable, it also requires business to take on apprentices for the duration of their training.
Beyond that, it requires young apprentices to develop a skill set that leads them into apprenticeships. That path is normally through a technical school education.
As it stands, Shepparton is without a technical school although in the Victorian Government Education Plan for the region, one is proposed.
Local Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell has called upon the government any number of times to bring forward the plans for a technical school to alleviate any problems in the future. Current suggestions are to use the existing high schools at Wanganui as soon as the students transfer to the new Greater Shepparton Secondary College.
Paula Ryan, CEO from the Apprenticeship Factory said, “Having a technical school in Shepparton would be marvelous. Young people need to gain an appreciation of the tasks behind the trades as a lead into an apprenticeship.“
At a national level, the Electrical Trades Union has indicated we are facing a perfect storm of long-term underinvestment in training and now a sharp economic downturn.
Many of the industries hard hit by the pandemic have resulted in many young apprentices losing their positions.
It is absolutely important to make sure we keep apprentices connected to industry and enrolled in their course. If we don’t, we risk creating problems that will last beyond the current pandemic and impact the lives of young Australians and the state of the economy well into the future.
