Living standards of apprentices

Abstract

Skill shortages in current Australian workforce are source of anxiety for both employers and governments. Projections show they will become more severe in the future. There are three ways policy-makers can respond to this problem; import more skilled labour, train more local workers, or rely on a mix of immigration and training. However training more young Australians through apprenticeships may not be so straightforward given that apprenticeships must compete with alternate forms of employment in the Australian labour market.