This publication presents early estimates of apprentice and trainee commencements for the December quarter 2012. Indicative information about this quarter is presented here; the most recent figures are estimated, taking into account reporting lags that occur at the time of data collection. The early trend estimates are derived from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection no.74, December 2012. Data are only available for commencements at the national level and have been seasonally adjusted and smoothed. Further information at the disaggregated level for the December quarter 2012 will be released in early June 2013. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)