Data released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) this week indicates apprenticeship and traineeship completion rates are on the rise.

VERTO CEO Ron Maxwell said the data revealed that apprentice and trainee completions grew by 18.8 per cent in the 2022 December quarter when compared with the December quarter 2021.

“In addition, there were 377,665 apprentices and trainees in-training as of 31 December 2022, an increase of 8.1 per cent (or 28,405) compared with 31 December 2021, which is very encouraging,” Mr Maxwell said.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve experienced unprecedented growth in demand for apprenticeships and traineeships across NSW.

“The challenge for all apprenticeship providers is to ensure all apprentices, once enrolled, are well supported throughout their training journey, right through to completion.

“We hope this positive trend continues, and VERTO looks forward to working with apprentices, trainees and employers to continue achieving positive competition rates, and meet the skills needs of local industries.”

Mr Maxwell said NSW figures were positive, showing 63,000 commencements as of 31 December 2022, an increase of 8.6 per cent since 31 December 2021. Additionally, non-trade commencements grew by 17.2 per cent in the same period.

“I’m particularly excited to see the number of females commencing an apprenticeship or traineeship in NSW has increased by 17.5 per cent over the 12-month period compared in the report,” he said.

“While this is traditionally a busy time of year for VERTO’s apprenticeship team, it is always positive to see growth in vocational education and training across NSW and Australia,” Mr Maxwell said.

For all your apprenticeship and traineeship needs, visit www.verto.org.au or phone 1300 483 786.