Better support for rural and remote apprentices

An association that advocates for geographically isolated students and parents has called for updates to payments and processes they say would give rural and remote apprentices the best shot at succeeding in trades. The Isolated Children's Parents' Association met in Sydney last week to discuss, among other things, how Australia's economy would benefit from improvements to allowances and services that currently support apprentices. Geographical isolation is stopping young people from entering trades, the group said, which is a huge loss for a country with critical skills shortages in most trades. The Richmond branch proposed a motion to ask the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to establish a relocation allowance for rural and remote apprentices, many of whom have to move away from home to complete their training. Apprentices cannot access the Tertiary Access Payment, which provides assistance for relocation costs to access higher education. A Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) does exist, although young people can only access the payment once rental status is confirmed, and the allowance is supposed to be for rent assistance. The branch argued the cost of moving out so young starts long before that young person starts paying rent. The association's Bourke branch proposed a similar motion, citing a case study that one of its member's children was told they would not be considered by an employer, who otherwise thought the child a skilled and capable candidate, because the employer knew the cost of relocating away from family would be unviable. "The very few apprentices who qualify for youth allowance as a dependent are excluded from the Relocation Scholarship, an adjunct payment to the Youth Allowance available for higher education study," the motion read. "The costs of relocation, often hundreds of kilometres away from the family home, are significant, and include setting up a home, the rental bond, furniture, linen, kitchen utensils and much more, all on a first-year apprentice wage which is extremely low. "Whilst our branch is appreciative of the various incentives currently provided for apprentices in trade and shortage areas included on the priority list, we believe a relocation allowance should be provided for all rural and remote apprentices who need to relocate, regardless of their trade, as this is an access issue." In May, the leader of the Electrical Trades Union Michael Wright, told Campus Review the main challenge apprentices face is the pressure of extremely low apprenticeship wages. "The number one issue apprentices face is cost of living. After that, it's insufficient mentoring and support, followed by wage exploitation: the boss not paying [apprentices] what they're entitled to, making them pay for their own textbooks, etc," he explained. "The reason they they're dropping out [is] because they can't make ends meet." The Bourke branch also said there is an issue with data collection around rural and remote students who relocate to undertake a trade. It said in most cases, neither government nor training providers are aware an apprentice is from a rural or remote area, and has moved away from home. The branch motioned for a 'home address' information requirement, that includes a street name, number and suburb, to be added to personal details documents apprentices fill out when they start training. This would sit alongside the current 'residential address' section on the form, that is often filled with an address close to the place of training the apprentice has moved to. "Once collected, the relocation data could be a part of the financial and non-financial support process, for organisations who collate apprenticeship data to inform policy and practices in the apprenticeship space," the motion reads. "The National Centre for Vocational Education Research could utilise the additional data to build a more informative profile on those who relocate to undertake an apprenticeship." The Bourke branch also submitted a motion that asks the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to recognise apprentices in remote Australia as a 'service specialisation'. The updated Australian Apprenticeship Support Services scheme offers extra support for priority apprentices that comprise women in male dominated trades, First Nations apprentices, and apprentices working in a clean energy occupation. The branch said apprentices from rural and remote areas should make the priority list. All the motions mentioned above were carried. Anna McCorkle, who delivered the training portfolio update, said the country has much to gain from improving trade opportunities for isolated young people. "There's also the potential, once they access this training, that rural and remote young people stay or return to a rural setting post-training, growing their skill set in small communities and enhancing economic and social sustainability in rural and remote Australia," she said. "Government papers told us last year that over the next 10 years, more than nine out of 10 newly created jobs will require post-secondary qualifications of some kind. "Within the midst of a national skills shortage, Australia still has an alarmingly low completion rate of both apprenticeships and higher education opportunities and, sadly, rural and remote Australia are not into this." The association as a whole is concerned about the lesser opportunities all rural and remote students have access to simply because of where they live. "Engaging in the Australian workforce through an apprenticeship should be an option for any young person that has the ability and the ambition and the motivation to succeed in these vocations," Ms Bourke said. "We don't want unique education opportunities, we want the access to what is there."