WA: Electrical apprenticeship subsidies threatened

Western Australia's Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) has spoken out against a recent state government decision to cut funding for electrical apprenticeship training.

CEPU assistant national secretary Allen Hicks said the cuts - which will see the subsidy available to young apprentices reduced by $3,000 - defied logic, with the current skills shortage meaning that employers would be attempting to encourage more new workers into the industry.

"We have a situation today where just about every lawmaker in the country is trying to figure out ways to encourage more electrical apprenticeships and yet the WA government has decided to start pushing the other way," Mr Hicks stated today (March 29).

WA's Department of Training and Workforce Development released the Western Australian Employment Trends and Prospects paper in September last year, which identified the electricity supply sector as a particular growth area in the lead up to 2014-15.

Mr Hicks called on the premier to intervene and reverse the funding cuts in light of the projected growth of the sector, before too many employers were forced to reassess their ability to take on more trainees.