Solar construction apprenticeships could be the big winner from the current legislation currently before Parliament.

Australia is currently undergoing a huge debate over the introduction of a carbon tax to be imposed on high-polluting industries as from July 2012. To date, it has been a very divisive argument run more by the opposition who is more interested in party promotion than the benefits or negative aspect such a tax would or could bring to our national economy.

The introduction of solar apprenticeships

Apprenticeships in the building industry over all are badly in need of revision. They were once largely run by Government Depts. like the Dept. of Defence, Dept. of Works etc but then these Government Departments were made to run as a corporate identity and to show a profit. This was the death knell for apprenticeships.

The other big game-changer for the past apprenticeship schemes was the introduction of higher wages closer to a fully trained Trades person. No business, given a choice would take on an untrained person and pay them the same money as they would for a certified and qualified trades person. After all, the Departments that once trained these apprentice’s now had to run as a big corporation.

Then the apprenticeship schemes were handed over to small business operators and the apprentices were then “farmed out” to various small businesses that elected to employ apprentices on a part-time basis while having all the administrative costs handled by the small employment agency who was now effectively the “Apprentice Master”. So, the question will soon arise about who is going to train the solar construction apprentices after the carbon tax is introduced?

I was listening to the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) early this morning and was interested to learn the current situation regarding construction apprenticeships here in Australia and whether there really is a skills shortage.

The multinational Mining Companies have lobbied state and federal Governments hard to allow migrant workers to come in under a special Visa migration scheme to fill what they have labelled as a skilled position. The filling of these skilled positions by so-called skilled migrants has been nothing short of a rort. The Companies bring these migrants in from poorer countries, pay them in their own currency and disregard Australian working conditions which include a basic wage rate.  If they complain, they immediately have their Visa revoked and are sent home. This is causing trouble on many worksites today and construction workers working beside these migrant people doing exactly the same job are being paid up to three times as much under the Fair Work Australia employment laws.

How will Solar Construction Apprenticeships be administered?

Many of the current apprentices are older mature age people. They come with life skills and a work ethic that has been learned from experience. As the wages are close to the same rate of pay, many companies prefer to employ an older apprentice who comes equipped with life skills if not the trade certificate.

Apprenticeships are best served by a young population who don’t yet have the responsibilities and costs of providing for a family. But as things stand right now, many of the apprenticeships are going to older recipients because they are seen as being more stable and have acquired life skills. As an employer, if you are going to train someone from the get-go and have a choice of no knowledge or some knowledge, I know which one I would prefer. And I’m sure I’m not alone in that choice.

The introduction of the carbon tax will bring many new opportunities to Australia and we need to prepare an apprenticeship scheme to train people into these fledgling opportunities. The training needs to be an apprenticeship-type scheme and run by the solar construction industry and not an employment agency. To oversee these opportunities coming towards us from the solar construction industry needs our full attention to detail today as to how they will be administered.