Submission into the Review of the Australian Apprenticeships National Skills Needs List

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Australian Chamber) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission in response to the issues paper on the Review of the Australian Apprenticeships National Skills Needs List (NSNL). Apprenticeship incentives play a critically important role in the system, and the purpose of incentives needs to be clearly understood. The NSNL review provides an opportunity for clarity and also to examine the relationship between skills shortages and apprenticeship incentives.

This submission establishes a clear position that an assessment of skills in shortage should have no role in influencing the base apprenticeship incentives, as there are other more purposeful rationales for public investment in base apprenticeship incentives. Skills shortage analysis does have a place in considering incentives, but its relevance should be confined to some additional or top-up incentives which are designed for a particular purpose.