The number of apprenticeship places funded by an ACT government body charged with training Canberra workers to meet skills shortages fell in the past financial year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Figures from the ACT Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Authority published in its most recent annual report showed 331 apprentices were employed in 2016-17, down from 341 in 2015-16.
The annual report also showed the authority fell short of its target of funding 350 apprentice places in 12 months for a third consecutive financial year.
Despite the slight decrease in apprentice places, the number of school-based apprenticeships in the ACT funded by the authority increased in the last financial year, rising from 43 to 55.
An ACT government spokesman said despite the slight drop, there's been little changes to the number of apprentices employed by group training organisations in Canberra.
"The numbers between 2015-16 and 2016-17 have been relatively stable and we do not anticipate any significant change in 2017-18, other than in line with activity in the construction industry," he said.
"Factors likely to influence apprenticeship numbers include funding provided to training organisations to deliver training, the range of employer incentives from various sources available, but perhaps most importantly, the state of the economy and the growth or decline in the construction sector."
During the same time period, however, the number of training places funded by the authority for construction workers already in the industry increased.
Existing worker training places rose by 12 per cent from 9589 in 2015-16 to 10,934 in the last financial year.
The annual report detailed 7682 of those places were for workplace health and safety training.
The figure is down from 2014-15, when there were 17,280 training programs.
"The significantly high number of workers attending training programs in 2014-15 is mostly attributable to the mandated asbestos awareness training provided over that period," the government spokesman said.
"The authority funds a diverse range of training programs that directly support the industry skills base in accordance with the current year's training plan."
During the past financial year, the authority posted its largest income since 2013, making more than $4.8 million, $556,000 more than 2015-16.
The annual report attributes the increased income due to "higher than anticipated value of works" on construction projects, including stage one of the Canberra light rail, estate developments and multi-unit residential complexes.
However, the authority predicted its income would be slightly lower in 2017-18 due to no additional levy revenue for work on the light rail.
The government spokesman said training opportunities for apprentices on the light rail are correlated with the level of construction activity on the project.
"There are currently 38 apprentices and trainees working on the light rail project," the spokesman said.
"Construction activity on the light rail is peaking now and this will continue to early 2018."
The spokesman said it's expected training spaces on other infrastructure projects to open up once work on the light rail is completed.
