Released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), the report, titled Understanding the value of pre-apprenticeships, found that students who completed a pre-apprenticeship in the same field of education as their apprenticeship were 7.3-percentage-points more likely to finish their apprenticeship than those who did not enrol in a pre-apprenticeship program.

Pre-apprenticeships help turn initial curiosity into commitment, building both skills and passion, according to NCVER, which is the main provider of research, statistics and data on Australia’s VET sector..

“They’re an opportunity, a taster, while students are at school,” co-author of the report, Melinda Lees tells EducationHQ.

“There’s not that expectation that the students will necessarily go on and enter into an apprenticeship, and the multi-option offerings are a really good opportunity to get a taste of a number of different apprenticeships within it.

“Pre-apprenticeships while still in the school system means they have the support of the school system and teachers to help them with the completion of it,” Lees says.

An important factor that employers talked about in the research was that students participating in pre-apprenticeships are ready to work safely on site.

“The student already knows how to be on a work site without endangering themselves or others, and they feel that employers feel that those who've undertaken a pre-apprenticeship are more committed to seeing through the four-year apprenticeship,” Lees explains.

“There's lots of different benefits, and from the student point of view, and possibly one of the main reasons why we see that uplift from pre-apprenticeship completers, is doing that pre-apprenticeship sets up their expectations - they know what they're getting into, and that helps them feel satisfied with what they're experiencing throughout their apprenticeship.”

The study also found that around one in three students who did not complete their pre-apprenticeship still moved into apprenticeships with employers. However, they were less likely to complete their apprenticeship when compared to those who had not enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship.

The research found that some groups benefit more than others. Younger apprentices, males and those not identifying with an equity group were more likely to both commence and complete an apprenticeship after enrolling in a pre-apprenticeship, while those less likely belonged to a priority group, such as Indigenous or with a disability.

Co-author of the study, Joanne Waugh, says one of the key takeaways for policy, programs, and for schools, is that targeted pre-apprenticeships for disadvantaged cohorts can be very valuable.

“They are probably what needs to happen if we’re going to see a change in the demographics of who go into apprenticeships, because just having pre-apps that don’t have any special targeting isn’t changing that cohort...”

Previous research undertaken at NCVER shows that secondary school students need a great deal of support to get through pre-apprenticeship programs, especially where they’ve got other disadvantages or learning difficulties, perhaps a challenging home life, Waugh says.

Joanne Waugh, above left, and Melinda Lees, above right, are researchers at NCVER, which helps promote better understanding of VET and assist policymakers, schools, industry, training providers, and students to make informed decisions. 

“So schools probably do need to think about how they can invest in that support.

“There’s no point pushing kids into a pre-apprenticeship and then leaving them to it and not helping them fit in between their schoolwork, their home life and helping them navigate that employment relationship if they move into a school-based apprenticeship as well.

“Students who have that holistic support do better.”

In the new study, the positive effect of pre-apprenticeships was particularly evident in the trade occupations, where those who had completed a pre-apprenticeship were 4.1-percentage-points more likely to complete their apprenticeship.

“This may reflect the value of hands-on preparation and the motivation among students who actively choose trade pre-apprenticeships,” NCVER managing director John King says.

While a detailed survey by HEDx and Year13 earlier this year found that just 27 per cent of young people said their high school has helped them feel prepared for their post-school future, and 70 per cent of young people said they’ve experienced high levels of anxiety, depression and fear in Year 12 due to confusion and uncertainty about their future career paths, Waugh says when it comes to trades work, school-age students hold favourable and well-informed opinions.

“All the students in our research, even if they hadn’t gone into their pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship pathway in school or shortly after school, had cemented their opinion of trades and trade occupations as valuable and well-paid and a good career to go into,” Waugh shares.

“They’d all solidified that opinion during high school, so the careers education that schools are doing around VET pathways and apprenticeship pathways is working and it is really valuable.”

Waugh explains however, that improving careers advice remains a must, whether students are considering vocational careers or a university-aligned pathway.

“There was a recent OECD report that showed that young people’s aspirations for work often don’t match the workforce skills that are required in their countries, including Australia, so there is definitely a need for informed careers advice.

“We have a lot of data around where the skills are required into the future in Australia so, it would be valuable for schools to have access to that information and be able to pass it on to students to digest and keep in their minds as they progress into adulthood.”

The biggest concern with apprenticeships is clearly around their lack of completion, and understanding why students aren’t completing, as opposed to commencements.

“Our current completion rates data for apprenticeships suggests that only around one in two people complete an apprenticeship, which I guess is concerning,” Lees says.

That said, new data, also from the NCVER, shows apprenticeship completion rates have hit a decade high, while the number of new apprentices continues to decline.

During the December 2024 quarter, Master Builders Australia data showed that the number of new construction apprentice commencements totalled 6969, a reduction of 12.5 per cent on a year earlier and there are now more people withdrawing from construction apprenticeships than new starters.

In the last quarter of 2024, 7138 apprentices quit their apprenticeships.

In some positive news, there was a 15.2 per cent increase in completions over the same period, with 7944 construction apprentices successfully completing their training during the last three months of 2024 – the highest quarterly total since mid-2014.

Disappointingly, while the building and construction industry is Australia’s fourth largest industry employer, with 115,560 apprentices in training (as of December 2023), just 4.7 per cent of these were women, and just 2.7 per cent of tradespeople in the industry, are women.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says labour shortages are the biggest handbrake on productivity and the delivery of housing and infrastructure.

“Fewer apprentice starts and high dropout rates only deepen the problem,” she says.

King says an understanding of why students who leave pre-apprenticeships early are less likely to complete their apprenticeship is needed.

“That insight could help the VET sector design better supports to ensure students succeed.”