The Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains regions have suffered a 22 per cent drop in the number of apprentices and trainees in training during the seven years of the Liberal Government, Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman has revealed.
New Department of Education, Skills and Employment figures show there were 2017 apprentices and trainees in training across Macquarie when the Labor Government lost power in 2013.
"Today, the figures show there are just 1565 - or 452 fewer. That's a significant drop of more than 22.4 per cent," said Ms Templeman.
"That is a shocking performance from the government that spins itself as good for business.
"We should have been seeing an increase in apprentices, not a decline, but instead the Morrison Government relied on overseas visa holders to fill skills gaps."
The news came as Australia marked National Skills Week, a chance to acknowledge the importance of TAFE and training in local communities.
"It also serves to remind people about Scott Morrison's tradie crisis," Ms Templeman said. "The Liberals have cut more than $3 billion from TAFE and training since they came to office, and 140,000 apprentices and trainees have been lost nationwide."
But federal employment and skills minister, Senator Michaelia Cash, said it was "extremely disappointing that Labor is playing politics with apprentices in the wake of COVID-19".
"The Morrison Government has invested $3.3 billion in supporting skills and apprenticeships since the onset of COVID-19," she said.
"This includes the $2.8 billion Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy, which is supporting small and medium businesses affected by COVID-19 to keep their apprentices and trainees in employment (this is in addition to apprentices and trainees who have been supported by the government's JobKeeper program).
"The government has also invested $500 million for the establishment of the JobTrainer Fund, to be matched dollar for dollar by state and territory governments. This fund is expected to provide up to 340,700 additional training places in areas of genuine need to help upskill and retrain people looking for work, including school leavers."
The minister said the Morrison Government has been reinvesting in the skills system over the past two years, including funding apprenticeships through the Additional Identified Skilled Shortage and the Australian Apprentice Wage Subsidy payments, which provided wage subsidies for apprentices in areas of skills shortage and in rural and regional Australia.
