There were almost 6400 people in training in the ACT at December 31, 2020, an increase of 1.7 per cent on the previous year, the latest figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research showed.

But every other state and territory recorded increases above 10 per cent in the same period. Across Australia, the number of trainees and apprentices increased by 13.9 per cent.

An ACT government spokesman said the territory was coming off a high base owing to increases in the number of apprentices and trainees over the last five years, which outstripped national growth.

The ACT government was committed to supporting more businesses to take on apprentices and trainees, particularly in the trades, the spokesman said.

"The ACT experienced a stronger than average growth rate of the number of apprentices in training between 2015 and 2019 compared to other states," the spokesman said.

"According to [the National Centre for Vocational Education Research], the number of apprentices in-training in the ACT grew by 15.2 per cent between 2015 and 2020 (from 5,540 to 6,380) compared to a national growth rate of 8.9 per cent."

But Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said the figures were disappointing, and said there would be a future impact on the trades sector in Canberra.

"This comes on the back of a whopping under-spend of $250 million on the infrastructure plan for the ACT, at which time the chief minister put the blame squarely at the sector's capability and capacity to actually follow through," Ms Lee said.

"Now these figures actually confirm that it's his government's lack of respect and funding for the sector that has put the ACT at the bottom."

Ms Lee also pointed to the low number of women entering trades apprenticeships in the ACT as an indicator of the territory's poor performance.

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Between December 2019 and December 2020, the number of women commencing an apprenticeship or traineeship was down 7.5 per cent, despite a 14.6 per cent increase nationally in the same period.

The number of trades commencements dropped by 13.6 per cent in the ACT, while rising 8.3 per cent nationally.

Ms Lee said the ACT government needed to show greater respect for the sector.

In a submission to the 2021-22 territory budget, the Master Builders Association called for higher subsidies in the ACT to support trades apprentices.

"Unlike many sectors, increasing the number of trade apprentices can have an immediate impact on increasing industry capacity because new apprentices start working immediately," the association's submission said.

The ACT government spokesman said the user choice subsidy list had been released this week, with subsidy levels increasing for most qualifications on the territory's skills needs list.

The ACT government moved to quietly cut to the vocational education program subsidies, which the peak body warned would threaten the sector's long-term viability. The cuts were delayed due to Covid.

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