The numbers pertaining to construction are even more alarming as a recent environmental scan conducted by the Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council (CPSISC) report completions of apprenticeships in that sector are down by 18%.
CFMEU National Construction Secretary Dave Noonan said that these were very worrying trends and that the Federal Government needed to prioritise the boosting of apprenticeships as a matter of urgency.
“These figures show a crisis. A decrease of almost one fifth of apprenticeships in our industry means the country is facing a serious skills shortage. There simply won’t be enough people to build our homes, our schools, our much needed infrastructure.
“Large numbers of young people are shut out of skilled jobs while unemployment is rising and the government is doing nothing to redress the issues that hamper young people from entering and completing apprenticeships,” said Mr Noonan.
Mr Noonan pointed to privatisation, the failure of large construction companies to directly employ and the subsequent growth in small subcontractors and the growth in sham contracting as being largely responsible for the decline in numbers.
“Young people wanting a career in construction are left with no way in and in many cases, struggle to complete their training,” he said.
Mr Noonan said that the government’s solution to skills shortages seemed to focus on bringing in overseas workers.
“Apprenticeships that could be taken up by young people are lost to the raft of 457 visa holders who are being exploited for cheap labour.”
Mr Noonan referred to ABS data that shows that youth unemployment has tripled since the GFC and said the Federal Government had a responsibility to ensure that young people were equipped with skilled jobs.
“Mr Abbott cannot continue to outsource his responsibilities and provide band aid solutions to serious structural problems that actually hinder young workers from accessing apprenticeships.”
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