Apprenctice starts remain above pandemic levels – NCVER

Apprentice and trainee commencements appear to be returning to levels seen before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

The Apprentices and trainees 2023: March quarter report shows that apprentice and trainee commencements increased steeply during the pandemic.

While they have declined since the peak in 2022, they are still higher by 13.1 percent in the March 2023 quarter than in the same quarter in 2019 before the pandemic.

NCVER Managing Director Simon Walker said: “In late 2020, Federal Government incentives such as the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements (BAC) scheme helped increase apprentice and trainee commencements.

“The data shows that commencements declined once the BAC scheme ended in June 2022, but appear to be returning to pre-pandemic levels some nine months later.”

When compared with the same quarter in 2022, apprentice and training commencements in the March quarter declined by 37.4 percent or 37,225.

There were 387,505 apprentices and trainees in-training as at 31 March 2023, a decrease of 3.4 percent or 13,470 from 31 March 2022.

Apprentices and trainees 2023: March quarter