Two significant changes to the apprenticeship and traineeship system commenced on 1 July 2024 and are in place for a 12-month transition period while the Apprenticeship Incentives Review is finalised. Prior to 1 July, employers who employed apprentices or trainees in occupations on the Priority List were eligible for the Priority Wage Subsidy of 10% of wages paid for the first 24 months and 5% for the third 12 months. For those in occupations not on the list, there was a Hiring Incentive of $3,500.
From 1 July, the Hiring Incentive has been renamed as the Priority Hiring Incentive and raised to $5,000. However, it only applies to occupations on the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List. The Priority Wage Subsidy has been discontinued. There are no incentives for occupations not on the list.
For apprentices, there are incentives of up to $5,000 paid over two years if their occupation is on the Priority List. There is also a New Energy Apprentice Support payment.
New arrangements for the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network also commenced on 1 July. They are now called Apprentice Connect Australia Providers. Some previous providers have lost their contracts and other new ones have commenced. There are also new providers who specialise in women in male-dominated trades, First Nations Australian Apprentices and Australian Apprentices working towards clean energy jobs.
The new contracts require providers to work with apprentices and employers from before an apprenticeship starts to identify individual needs, help apprentices to find the right pathway and support employers to better understand their roles and responsibilities in the workplace. Providers will also provide support throughout the apprenticeship.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has just released its apprenticeship data for the quarter ending 31 December 2023. It shows substantial decreases in commencement numbers compared to the previous 12 months, which it attributes to the discontinuation of generous wage subsidies in operation during COVID. It will be interesting to see whether these new changes to incentives will further impact on commencements. The Australian Government is currently reviewing apprenticeship incentives.
Source: NCVER, National Apprentice and Trainee collection
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