New data from the National Centre for Vocational Education and Training (NCVER) highlights what any builder or tradie in the industry is seeing on the ground – an ever-increasing decline in the number of construction apprentices in training.

The total number of apprentices in training declined by three per cent over the past 12 months, which is a great concern to the building industry and is compounding the nation’s construction skill shortages.

The most significant falls were in bricklaying (down by 17 per cent), and roof tiling (down by 13 per cent), closely followed by plasterers and painters.

Equally concerning was that despite 7482 apprentices successfully finishing their training, this was overshadowed with 7550 withdrawals over the same period. This marks the second consecutive quarter where the number of dropouts exceeded completions.

83,000 trades shortfall

Recent HIA modelling found that we need at least another 83,348 workers across the top 12 trades in residential construction to meet or even get close to the government’s 1.2 million homes target.

The shortage of skilled workers is a major impediment to the supply of housing. Labour shortages are resulting in project delays which add to the cost of construction.

Not only is Australia facing a chronic shortage of skilled workers, but the competition for workers has never been tougher. This competition is only expected to increase with a number of significant infrastructure and big build projects in the pipeline.

Return to tech colleges and Job Ready programs

For too long, our schooling system has preferenced a university education over trades, which has resulted in too many young people seeing trades as being a second-choice option.

A return to the successful model from the 1960–1990s of technical trade colleges would provide a different pathway for ambitious young Australians, fast-tracking them into high-skilled and well-paying jobs.

Job Ready or Try a Trade programs have shown to produce higher completion rates by preparing students for a career in the construction industry. A national targeted program would have the benefits of ensuring that young people can experience the industry before committing to a career, while employees will have access to better prepared employees.

These declines aren’t entirely from a lack of people wanting to start a career in the construction trades, but also from a lack of employers being in a position to create jobs for apprentices.

Current financial support for employers of apprentices under the Priority Hiring Incentive scheme is due to expire at the end of the year and the government has not announced any replacement or extension.

Unlocking the ‘missing middle’ 

An average person leaving school today will have up to 15 different jobs in their lifetime. High school students, as they finish their senior school education, have an unlimited number of career options at their feet. 

Whether they have just left school or are enjoying an extended gap year, there are over 1.6 million people in Australia aged between 17 and 21, the key age cohort, making decisions about their future career. 

Our education system is heavily weighted to supporting young Australians through their schooling and into post education but once they leave, they often become lost to the system.

Equally there is a large cohort who start a university degree, realise it is not for them and look to change direction.

Currently there are 343,640 apprentices and trainees in-training across all sectors. Construction apprenticeships make up approximately 100,000 of this number. However, last year only around 21,000 of the 17–21-year-olds commenced training in one of the key construction trades required for home building – this equates to just 1.3 per cent.

Another challenge that exists in attracting this ‘missing middle’ cohort is that our apprenticeship system treats those aged over 21 as ‘mature aged’. In the absence of support for those employing adult apprentices, it has become common for employers to overlook workers eligible for the adult apprentice wage in favour of younger workers.

A modern, fit-for-purpose training system

Our training systems need to modernise to meet industry needs, including the adoption of new building materials, technology, increased level of offsite construction and tapping into the potential of AI.

Proximity of training services is also another barrier on education and labour force outcomes. For apprentices, the location of training facilities may require them to move or travel to complete their trade training. This is particularly pronounced in regional, rural and remote Australia.

HIA has heard stories of apprentices having to drive three to four hours to and from trade schools.

New plan needed

In light of these key issues, HIA is proposing that fresh thinking is needed to reverse the decline in apprentice numbers, dropout rates and to unlock the missing middle.

We are calling for a new multi-pronged approach, including:

• the creation of a national network of specialist Australian Technical Colleges for Year 10–12 students
• a national Job Ready scheme to provide a try-a-trade skills prior to entering into apprenticeship
• financial incentives for employers to take on apprentices
• a targeted program for recent school-leavers to promote taking on a trade that describes career opportunities, earning potential and other benefits
• introduce incentives that help bridge any wage shortfall for ‘mature aged apprentices’ and their employers
• implement a pilot program for accelerated apprenticeships through use of micro-credentials or vendor-credentialing as a pathway to offer a fast and practical way 
• for workers to upskill, allowing new skills to be applied.

Business as usual won’t cut it

While there have been some good initiatives trialled over the past few years in the skills space, they are not moving the dial.

HIA is calling for fresh thinking to boost apprentice numbers and completions, and we need to double-down to get all hands on deck to truly turn this critical issue around.

Without reforms such as those we have identified, the government’s goal to build 1.2 million homes by 2029 will remain a pipe dream.

First published on 5 February 2026