Apprenticeships remain an important source of skilled workers in Australia; however, commencements have not kept pace with the skills demand projected in the previous decade. During that same decade, undergraduate university enrolments grew considerably. In investigating whether young people who would previously have chosen an apprenticeship have instead entered university, this study uses data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (LSAY) to compare the characteristics of apprenticeship-bound young people with those who are university-bound and to determine whether the characteristics have changed between 2007 and 2019.

For this study, the term ‘apprenticeship’ denotes an Australian Apprenticeship, that is an apprenticeship or traineeship and a learning pathway that combines paid on-the-job training with formal study with a registered training organisation (RTO) under a contract of training.

Key messages:

• The profile of a young person who is likely to undertake an apprenticeship rather than enter university has remained largely unchanged since 2007. This analysis did not reveal any large-scale relative change in the characteristics of young people entering apprenticeships or university, although there may be effects not captured by this study.
• Those more likely to undertake an apprenticeship than enter university in 2019 were those with the following characteristics: male, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Australian-born, speak English at home, have attended a government school, or reside regionally and rurally.
• Conversely, individuals who scored higher on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) mathematics or reading achievement tests at the age of 15, as well as those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds at the same age, were more likely to pursue higher education.
• Migrants and first-generation Australians have become less likely than Australian-born young people to undertake an apprenticeship than attend university.
• More young people are selecting university study but there remains a significant pool of young people who may be attracted to apprenticeships through targeted career education and improved matching of career aspirations to study pathways.
• Employer demand for apprentices plays a large part in boosting apprenticeship numbers, meaning that strategies to sustain employer interest in offering apprenticeships are likely to complement career education efforts.