Release type: Media Release

Date:

More apprentices to build Australia’s future

Ministers:

The Hon Andrew Giles MP
Minister for Skills and Training

Apprenticeship participation and completions have jumped significantly in the past five years with trade completions at their highest in a decade, new data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) shows.

The NCVER March quarter 2025 edition of Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics: Apprentices and Trainees shows the Albanese Government’s work to build Australia’s skilled workforce is delivering results where they are needed most.

Trade apprenticeship completions have surged, with more than 51,000 apprentices finishing their training in the year to March 2025, up by 4,085 apprentices or nine per cent.

Around 98,400 apprentices and trainees completed their training during the same period, with nearly 100,000 now workforce-ready across Australia.

Apprentices in training are also well above pre-pandemic levels, with numbers up 15 per cent compared to March 2019. At 31 March 2025, there were 41,710 more apprentices in training than 2019.

Cancellations and withdrawals dropped by 17.4 per cent in the year to March 2025, reflecting improved retention rates supported by measures including enhanced services delivered through Apprenticeship Connect Australia Providers.

Among the measures being delivered by the Albanese Government to support apprentices and trainees are:

  • expanding the Key Apprenticeship Program to include high-priority construction trades, with increased incentives of up to $10,000 for apprentices such as carpenters, electricians and plumbers;
  • extending Phase 2 Incentive System settings to 31 December 2025, providing top-up payments for apprentices and employers in priority occupations; and
  • increasing support payments for apprentices living away from home, and for employers of apprentices with disability.

The report also highlights promising growth in priority occupations. The number of electricians in-training rose by 2.4 per cent to around 45,900, while plumbers in training increased by 0.8 per cent to around 22,400.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles:

“The Albanese Government isn’t wasting a day in investing in the skills Australians want, to do the jobs we need.

“It’s encouraging to see more Australians training in critical areas for country – the kinds of jobs that keep our homes powered, our communities safe, and our loved ones cared for.”

“We’re turning around the skills shortages we inherited from the previous government, who left the worst skills shortages in half a century.