Employment Relations and Australian Apprenticeship Essay -- Education

Introduction (share of responsibility at the workplace) Apprentices and trainees currently represent 25 per cent of the 1.7 million students enrolled in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system and 3.8 percent of the entire workers (NCVER, 2010). More than 13 per cent of the entire Australian workforce comprises of 1.2 million workers in the technical and trade sector (Expert Panel, 2011: 8). Therefore, the quality and effectiveness of the Australian Apprenticeships systems will impact on the productivity of the wider Australian economy. For decades, Australians have completed apprenticeships and traineeships that have provided pathways into satisfying and rewarding careers in trade or vocation, or into further training, skills development and leadership (Lansbury and Wailes, 2004). Consequently, shifting the onus to the interested stakeholders in the employment industry to ensure that Australian Apprenticeships remain a valued pathway. This involves reinforcing a shared responsibility for the Australian Apprenticeships system b y establishing an employer contribution schem...