A greater focus on developing technical skills in secondary schools is required to draw more young Australians into apprenticeships, according to John Ainley and Matthew Corrigan. Their study examined the characteristics and completion rates of participants in New Apprenticeships drawing on the experiences of a group of young Australians who were in Year 9 in 1995, focusing on those who had participated in a traditional apprenticeship or traineeship up until the end of 2003.