More apprentices needed to address skills shortage

NECA supports the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s call on employers to take on an apprentice to address the emerging skill shortages.

NECA National Chief Executive Officer James Tinslay said: “It is essential for our industry to continue developing and skilling apprentices to ensure we have a talented pool of people to sustain it in the future. With the challenging economic conditions of the past 18 months, it has been even more important to maintain our skills base so that the industry is able to take advantage of the opportunities that come with economic recovery.

“The National Skills Shortage Strategy Workforce Projections Project was a major undertaking for NECA which concluded in 2009. It involved around 5500 industry representatives, employers, employees, registered training organisations, group training organisations and other key stakeholders. The project found and reinforced NECA’s position that it is essential to maintain apprentice numbers during difficult economic times to address emerging skills shortages as the economy recovers.

“The financial crisis running into 2009 has been responsible for a significant drop in new apprenticeships in our industry. The results are not yet devastating but are a serious setback for the previous 10 years' work that have had vocational advisors, parents and schools recognise that the electrical trades provide young people with a high-tech, valued and career-orientated future.

“The electrotechnology industry presents an enormous number of career pathways for young apprentices, with evolving technologies offering new opportunities for those who want to stay at the cutting edge.

“I encourage all employers in the industry to take on new apprentices and NECA will continue to argue to government that they must provide hard dollar meaningful support to employers to ensure that the quickly emerging skill shortages can be reasonably contained.”