Victorian Government apprenticeship and traineeship initiatives
Head start
Supports school-based apprentices and trainees to identify their preferred apprenticeship or traineeship, matches them with a suitable employer and supports them through training and learning.
Big Build apprenticeships
Provides guaranteed paid employment for the duration of the apprenticeship or traineeship, a chance to work on major Victorian state infrastructure projects, ongoing mentoring and support, employer matching and an enrolment in an appropriate training course.
Apprenticeships Innovation Fund
Supports new approaches to the apprenticeship and traineeship model, in partnership with industry and unions. Includes a $5 million stream to support innovative projects that encourage more women into apprenticeships.
Higher apprenticeships pilots
Trialing innovative new qualifications that extend the apprenticeship and traineeship model to training at higher levels via two innovative projects.
SEC apprenticeships and traineeships
6,000 of the 59,000 jobs supported by the SEC will be apprenticeships and traineeships.
Other initiatives
Victoria works with other states and territories on the National VET Completions project, a South Australian-led initiative which seeks to better understand major factors impacting completion rates and key intervention points, explore national and international best practice models and identify practical solutions drawing on these models.
The Victorian Government is supporting Victorian apprentices and trainees by providing $4 million to establish an Apprentice Mental Health Training Program for apprentices of all trades (Premier of Victoria (2023), Doing what matters for Victorian jobs, skills and workers(opens in a new window), May). The program provides support for apprentices at smaller employers to access employee assistance programs, and for employers to improve their mental health and suicide prevention literacy (Department of Treasury and Finance (2023), Doing What Matters(opens in a new window), Budget Paper 3, p. 79).
A further $1.5 million has been allocated to establish and deliver the Apprenticeships Taskforce (Premier of Victoria (2023), Apprenticeships Taskforce Improving Safety And Fairness At Work(opens in a new window), July). The taskforce will consider the perspectives of apprentices and trainees and provide recommendations to improve safety in workplaces, ensuring more apprentices and trainees have a successful start to their career, and industry continues to support the apprenticeship and traineeship system. The findings of the taskforce will lead to the development of initiatives to enhance apprenticeship uptake and completions.
Madison's drive
Madison Giordano has completed her apprenticeship, a Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology at Kangan Institute and works as a diesel mechanic in a bus company.
Madison’s passion was sparked in 2018, during her travels to Alice Springs, when she observed the Finke Desert Race team servicing and rebuilding vehicles.
Now, as a qualified diesel mechanic, Madison can diagnose and repair an issue from start to finish and is skilled to work on a huge range of vehicles.
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