The NSW Government has dubbed their fee-free training for apprentices and trainees a success as numbers across the state rose in the year to December 2021 however, despite the unprecedented investment, apprentice and trainee numbers across Western NSW are some of the lowest in a decade. 

Promising numbers at the statewide level have come from the fee-free investment, including a growth in women completing training services. 

Minister for Skills and Training Alister Henskens said that across the state, numbers are continuing to grow. 

“It’s great to see the number of women undertaking apprenticeships and traineeships in NSW continuing to surge, with a 21 per cent increase in 2021,” Mr Henskens said. 

In Western NSW, there are 6,090 people undertaking training across the region with 1,761 of them women. 

Despite high enrolments, the completion of training in Western NSW has dropped off since 2015, well before the pandemic could skew the numbers. 

While in 2015 apprenticeship and traineeships were over 2,000 in the years to 2015, in 2021 they reached just 1,351. More than half way through 2022, there have been 951 completions so far. 

Statewide, however, the boost seems to be making an impact and perhaps encouraging hope for the year ahead. 

“Our push to turbocharge the take-up of vocational education and training is securing a brighter future for NSW, with more people getting skilled, finding jobs and growing the economy,” Mr Henskens said. 

Further reforms made by the government are aimed at increasing those numbers even more, removing barriers to vocational education and training for young people. 

Changes to the HSC and ATAR mean that students will be able to undertake more courses that previously precluded them from completing their HSC and receiving an ATAR. 

In 2021 only 883 students were enrolled to complete their HSC in the Orana and Far West region, which accounts for Dubbo and Broken Hill too. 

Distance to centralised delivery sites, small and scattered populations making minimum student quotas impossible for many courses, and poor internet connectivity are considered to be factors affecting access to vocational training in most western plains towns.

According to local training supplier Verto, the most popular traineeships in the Western Plains are Early Childhood Education and Care, Business and Agriculture, while the most popular apprenticeships are Plumbing and Electrotechnology Electrician, Civil Construction Plant Operations and Engineering. 

Business NSW CEO Daniel Hunter said the growing momentum brings hope for the number of unfilled jobs across the region and state. 

“Lifting the number of young people in apprenticeships, enhancing vocational education and training options for those looking to upskill or explore another career is just what the doctor ordered to address the state’s skill shortage,” Mr Hunter said. 

The courses funded by the government will allow for 70,000 new traineeships.