Australia slips on global scale for implementation of apprenticeships
Australia's standing for the implementation of apprenticeships has slouched, the IMD World Talent Ranking shows. The nation has slipped to number 51 on the global scale down from its 22nd spot last year.
Switzerland has secured the number 1 spot. Australia’s standing also compared to number 19 for Singapore. According to Director of the World Competitiveness Centre at IMD Arturo Bris, there is a view that Australian education system is less capable of producing the necessary skills.
The country has slipped on the pupil-teacher ratio in primary education. A combination of the two has pushed the nation down the talent ranking to the number 19 slot. That was three points down from the survey last year.
It is compared with Australia’s the number 9 slot when the survey was first carried out in 2007. The global ranking reveals which countries are best at attracting and retaining the type of workers needed for business to add to GDP.
Bris has said a country can attain a good ranking by attracting foreign talent. A high ranking may also be achieved by focusing on developing local talent.
The professor believes Australia is an attractor of talent, and it must invest heavily in the domestic talent pool. "In the European case, people are hired direct from school and put into training programs which give them formal qualifications but also continuous work experience,” he said.
Mitchell Institute at Victoria University reinforced his comments, with Professor Peter Noonan saying the traditional idea of apprenticeships is too narrow. He urged that the scope must become more comprehensive, from trades like plumbing and mechanics to include high-end manufacturing, financial services and some health practice. People should be learning on the job while also aiming for a university degree. He added that what apprentices learn must be recognised, the Australian Financial Review reports.
Switzerland at number 1
Bris said Switzerland has a good model for apprenticeships as it prepares students for management positions from the very start. Some top executives in Switzerland started out with apprenticeships in companies. He noted that some top executives did not go to university. Some companies took interest in them; that was how their abilities started to develop.
Bris cited the case of an asset manager of a pension fund, who at the age 30 said he had been working for his company for 15 years. And he did not have his date wrong as he started working at the age of 15.
