Key findings and skills response recommendations

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Addressing skills shortages

Develop industry-led initiatives to address skill shortages that will attract new workers to entry-level qualification pathways, and to upskill existing workers through workplace-based education and training that can be formally recognised.

Skills response recommendation

Strategies to address the skills shortage currently facing the manufacturing sector, and to provide a pipeline of workers for the future, should include:

  • Establishment of Careers Advisory Services across Australia focusing on rewards from undertaking apprenticeships, recognising career opportunities for highly skilled workers and changing the image of manufacturing
  • Positioning apprenticeships as the bedrock of entry level training
  • Initiatives to increase participation in apprenticeships, with the goal of restoring levels in existing trades to 2012 levels
  • Increasing the coverage of apprenticeships to Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications that incorporate extensive STEM-based skills