West Australian Apprenticeships Hit Five-Year Low Amid Post-COVID Decline

Data has shown that the number of West Australians enrolled in apprenticeships and traineeships is the lowest in five years after a post-COVID spike in numbers.

The figures, released by The National Centre for Vocational Education Research, compare the numbers of contracts in December 2025 with past years.

They show that the sharp spike in apprenticeships and traineeships in WA in 2022 and 2023 has fallen off.

Overall, 35,760 people were at some stage of a vocational training contract in December 2025, compared with 40,385 in 2021, an 11.5 per cent drop.

It was not all bad news.

Traditional apprenticeship-based trades, including electrical, motor mechanics, carpentry and plumbing, were all up significantly from five years ago.

Numbers in food trades, agriculture and horticulture, and mining and hospitality traineeships showed some of the largest drops in numbers from 2021.

WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WACCI) associate director of industry skills Lena Constantine told Nadia Mitsopoulos on 102.5 ABC Radio Perth the downward trend was a concern.

Call for employer incentive payments

In the apprenticeship space, which trains people for trades and takes four years, Ms Constantine said there was a shortage of roles being offered by employers and issues with completion rates.

"We're not making it an attractive enough choice for employers to take on an unskilled worker and train them up in the workplace," she said.

"There have been some encouraging signs.

"We're seeing a slight uptick in electrical, plumbing [and] carpentry.

"However, overall, our numbers remain well below what we actually are required to meet WA's future workforce demand."

Part of the decrease, she said, was due to the federal government's reduction in pandemic-era incentives to employers to offer apprenticeships.

Employers offering apprenticeships in priority trades, which include electrical, carpentry and plumbing, can access $5,000 a year in government funding, while other trades receive $2,500.

"The state government still has some very generous incentives as well — they offer $8,500 over four years for an apprenticeship and half that for a traineeship — but it tends to be the federal government incentives that change behaviour," Ms Constantine said.

Big end of town can do more, minister says

WA Minister for Skills and TAFE, Amber-Jade Sanderson, defended the government's efforts to support vocational training.

"In targeted areas like construction and electrical trades, we're seeing a significant increase," she said.

"We've got 16 per cent increase in building and construction in the last 12 months and a 7 per cent increase in electrical trades in the last 12 months."

She said fee-free TAFE had significantly increased demand.

She said incentives of $20,000 were on the table for employers for trades that would be needed for the AUKUS submarine program.

The key limiting factor is the availability of apprenticeship places with employers.

"We know that three-quarters of training is actually done by small businesses," she said.

"We need the big companies in Western Australia to do more heavy lifting when it comes to taking on apprentices, that's what will really shift the dial when it comes to training."

She said completion rates had improved, in part due to pre-apprenticeship programs, which allowed people to try out a sector before committing to a four-year training.

Despite apprenticeships offering significantly lower wages, demand for apprenticeships remained high.

"There is a wait list at TAFE for many courses," Ms Sanderson said.

"We've got people, West Australians wanting to train.

"The limiting factor in many respects is getting employers to take them on."

Winning 'life's lottery' in plumbing

Apprentice plumber Rachael Schmidt, 20, said her choice of career "couldn't have gone any better".

She took on the challenge after spending a few months labouring with her father and "ended up winning life's lottery and fell in love with plumbing".

"The variety of work, the process of elimination on jobs and a sense of purpose and achievement, and also the constant learning makes it such a rewarding career," she said.

She said she was lucky enough to get enough overtime hours to help pay her bills and had also received a grant from a plumbing supplier which had paid for her tools, which cost several thousand dollars.

Without that help, she said she would be struggling financially but said it had also taught her how to save.