Low completion rates for apprentices and trainees have received considerable attention recently and it has been argued that NCVER seriously understates completion rates. In this paper Tom Karmel uses NCVER data on recommencements to estimate individual-based completion rates. It is estimated that around one-quarter of trade apprentices swap…

Pre-apprenticeship programs have generated interest recently from government, employers and other stakeholders in the training system as one means of improving apprenticeship completion rates and thereby ameliorating skill shortages. However, there has not yet been any research which establishes that pre-apprenticeship programs actually increase…

The proportion of apprentices and trainees completing their contract of training has received considerable attention in recent years. To support public discussion, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has been publishing tabulations of both completion and attrition rates. Up until recently, the approach taken was to…

This paper adds to the considerable literature on low completion rates for apprenticeships and traineeships by looking at whether the reasons given for not completing vary by how far the individual is into their contract of training. The approach the authors take is to calculate the probability of apprentices and trainees giving a particular…

The primary focus of this research is the impact of wages on the decision not to continue with an apprenticeship or traineeship. The approach taken is to model three wages relevant to apprentices and trainees: the wage during training; the expected wage in alternative employment; and, the expected wage on completion. The results of these models…

Apprenticeships have a very long history in Australia, building on the traditions of the medieval guilds. The essence of the apprenticeship is the contract of training--a legal contract between an individual, an employer and a training provider. The defining characteristic is the combination of employment and training. The purpose of this paper is…