Apprentices must be retained despite COVID-19 challenges to ensure communities have the trade skills to recover, according to an Albury training provider.
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VERTO chief executive Ron Maxwell urged businesses to explore government measures to support apprentices and trainees, which include subsidies for wages as well as employers who take on a worker from another small business.
"We've talked about skills shortages for quite some time now and it is a fact, it's very, very real," he said.
"If there's a lack of apprentices today, there's a lack of skills for tomorrow."
Mr Maxwell said apprentice numbers began to drop sharply about 2012 and really hadn't rebounded, but the summer bushfires highlighted the need for increased trade abilities.
"It's going to require a lot of rebuilding and it's really going to fall on the tradespeople to be a very significant part of that," he said.
"The worrying thing now with COVID-19 is really it's brought a lot of that recovery to a halt, so it's really critical that we keep as many apprentices employed and active as possible."
VERTO, a not for profit organisation, hoped if apprentices were retained, they could at least focus on the theoretical side of their trade even if practical work declined because of the coronavirus crisis.
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Mr Maxwell agreed many employers were focused merely on immediate survival, but he encouraged a longer term view.
"I know it's hard to see beyond things at the moment, because it's a very wild stretch that we're navigating at the moment as far as economic terms go," he said.
"But we have to try and look beyond because there will be a recovery and there's going to be a lot of work that needs to be done as part of that recovery."
Jindera's Sharni Van Werkhoven, 17, has no regrets about starting an apprenticeship in November, despite the wider uncertainty now.
An apprentice cabinet maker, Sharni joined QA Kitchens after doing work experience there and has enjoyed helping to construct and install kitchens.
"It's very hands-on," she said.
"I grew up around that sort of stuff, so it was really the only place I really wanted to get a career."
The teenager said apprenticeships offered an alternative to university, which did not suit everyone.
"There are other ways to get a stable career," she said.
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Mr Maxwell noted hospitality and retail, which generally employed a lot of trainees, had been greatly affected by COVID-19.
"What we also have to remember is traineeships and apprenticeships are a key employment mechanism for the youth of this country and the youth cohort is among the highest cohort of unemployed," he said.
"So they're going to be really, really hit hard, but those sectors need to be there when we come out of this."
Businesses seeking information about the government incentives can contact VERTO on 1300 483 786.