The latest National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) report confirms apprenticeships and traineeships continue to provide strong pathways into employment.
The Apprentice and trainee outcomes 2025 report shows that 94.8% of trade completers and 89.2% of non-trade completers were employed after finishing their apprenticeship or traineeship, similar to 2024. Even students who do not complete their apprenticeship still achieve relatively strong employment and further study outcomes overall.
NCVER Managing Director John King said, ‘While most apprentices naturally get great jobs in their trained occupation, an apprenticeship can also act as a pathway to jobs in other occupations. This is particularly the case for students who take up a non-trade apprenticeship’.
Improving apprenticeship completion rates remains a national priority to achieving better outcomes for students and addressing skill shortages.
The reasons students gave for not completing an apprenticeship are multi-layered. Dissatisfaction with pay, working conditions or the workplace was mentioned by around 1 in 4 students. Personal circumstances, including illness, health or family reasons were also widely mentioned. Some students also changed direction, ceasing for a better job, another apprenticeship, or a different career or study path.
‘Only around 15% of all non-completers reported that there was nothing that could have been done to encourage them to complete their training, indicating that, for the vast majority, steps could be taken to better support their personal circumstances and working conditions to help facilitate completion’, Mr King said.
Background:
This publication provides a summary of the outcomes of apprentices and trainees who completed (completers) or cancelled/withdrew (non-completers) from their apprenticeship or traineeship during 2024, with the data collected in mid-2025. Figures are derived from apprentices’ and trainees’ responses to the National Student Outcomes Survey, which is an annual survey of vocational education and training (VET) students.
Download the report: Apprentice and trainee outcomes 2025
Enquiries: Elise Stone P: +61 8 8230 8443 E: communications@ncver.edu.au
About NCVER: we are the main provider of research, statistics and data on Australia’s VET sector. Our services help promote better understanding of VET and assist policy makers, practitioners, industry, training providers, and students to make informed decisions.
This work has been produced by NCVER on behalf of the Australian Government and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.