Apprenticeship and traineeship completion

This audit assessed whether the activities of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) and the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) maximise apprenticeship and traineeship completions. Apprenticeships and traineeships combine formal training with employment, allowing individuals to acquire qualifications while supplying Victoria’s industries with a skilled workforce. Expenditure on apprenticeships and traineeships has increased by 37 per cent in real terms since 2004.

The audit found that while more people are undertaking multiple qualifications, leading to an increase in the total qualifications being completed, the number of individuals completing apprenticeships and traineeships has remained stagnant. Now, as in 2004, a third of people who start an apprenticeship or traineeship will not finish it. DEECD has a partial and insufficient understanding of how many individuals are completing apprenticeships and traineeships. Without this knowledge, it cannot take effective action to improve completion outcomes. The VRQA assumed responsibility for regulating apprenticeships and traineeships in 2012. Since then, it has acted to enhance and improve regulation of apprenticeships and traineeships. However, the audit identified a number of areas where further action is required. VRQA has committed to addressing these issues over the next 18 months.

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