Keep Apprentices On The Tools

Keep Apprentices On The Tools

Right now, the organisation that gives advice to the government on apprenticeships, the Australian Industry Skills Commission, wants to strip on the job learning out of apprenticeships.

Minister Cash wrote to relevant state and territory ministers calling on them to vote by circular on a plan to strip out the mandatory workplace practice part of the qualifications that underpin apprenticeships. The proposal is being pushed by the organisation that gives advice to the Government on skills for apprenticeships – the Australian Industry & Skills Committee (AISC).

This would mean that someone could finish an apprenticeship without ever touching a tool.

Workplace training is crucial to ensure apprentices feel competent and safe on the job. Over 80 percent of apprentices and 90 percent of employers that were surveyed at the request of the AISC supported mandatory workplace practice for trade qualifications and wanted training to be done only through apprenticeships. 

We are calling on the Government and the AISC to protect our apprenticeships and keep apprentices on the tools.