Findings from research conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicate that the use of traineeships and apprenticeships within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population have been highly effective.

The results of the government’s most recent study into Indigenous affairs and education, demonstrated that the likelihood of employment for the Indigenous community is significantly higher if they are part of a traineeship or apprenticeship; 52.1% of Indigenous apprentices are employed, compared with 31.6% of other Indigenous students.

Furthermore, Indigenous Australians particularly females, are more likely than the rest of the population to participate in apprenticeships and traineeships, mostly due to their relatively younger demographic structure (as apprenticeships are typically undertaken in youth). The study was even able to specify that the most popular courses enrolled by Indigenous Australians were within construction, sales and clerical positions that offered Certificate I and Certificate II qualifications.

One of the professors in charge of the study, Nicholas Biddle said the findings present an exciting opportunity for both the Indigenous community and the Vocational Education and Training  (VET) sector.

“This research indicates that there’s a real market for traineeship and apprenticeship offerings for the Indigenous community and catering courses to suit their needs,” he said.

In addition to presenting training organisations with the opportunity to tap into a potential market, the use of apprenticeships have also improved individual self esteem and skill levels. This has then had positive flow-on effects for the whole community. Individuals surveyed during the study said they saw their apprenticeship as an ‘advance to their skills’ and saw themselves as ‘a role model within their community for others’.

“By becoming role models within the community, they then demonstrate to other young Indigenous Australians the benefits of taking on an apprenticeship and having regular employment. We’ve found form our research that fellow members of the community start to follow suit,” Nicholas Biddle said.

Interestingly, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare also analysed the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive Scheme and found that while incentives increase the number of individuals commencing an apprenticeship, the scheme has no effect on retention rates. These findings corroborate with those from ASQA conducted earlier this year, which led to the crack down on private training organisations offering ‘incentives and gifts’ to potential students.

Rather than incentives, the study recommended that training organisations focus on providing quality mentors for their apprenticeship programs, offer pre-apprenticeship training and form strong partnerships with local schools in order to improve both enrolment and retention apprenticeship rates.  The study also suggested investing in software that would make it easier to regularly monitor each student’s progress, such as cloud based RTO software or a reliable student management system. The full details of the study and these findings are shown on the Australian Government website.

While Nicholas Biddle argues that these findings will be of great use to both the VET sector and government welfare, there is still much further analysis to be done.

“While what we’ve gathered is a great starting point, there is still a need for more robust data on the diverse effects of apprenticeships in Australia and particularly from an Indigenous Australian context. We’d also like to compare and contrast the effectiveness of Indigenous-specific trainee programs and standard programs to determine if one is more effective for Indigenous Australians than the other in terms of employment and completion,” he said.

The government will be conducting more in-depth studies later this year.