Apprentices’ pay boost

By Shaun Inguanzo
APPRENTICES at a Dandenong bus manufacturer will be the best paid in Australia as part of a groundbreaking initiative by the company to avoid a skills shortage.
Apprentices at Volgren Australia in their fourth year will be able to earn as much as $691 a week, after tax, under the new scheme announced last week.
Previously, a fourth-year apprentice could only earn as much as $488 a week after tax, forcing many to work second jobs to meet increasing living costs.
First-year apprentices who currently earn an industry standard of $240 after tax will now clear $488.
Volgren has billed the new scheme as one of the best in Australia.
The South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA), of which Volgren is a member, has thrown its weight behind the announcement.
SEMMA executive officer Paul Dowling heralded Volgren’s apprenticeship package as a much-needed overhaul of the archaic manufacturing apprenticeship system.
“In attempts to meet the shortfall of skilled people, local industry has acknowledged for some time now that many aspects of the traditional apprenticeship system are no longer relevant in our society,” he said.
“This has directly affected industry’s ability to attract and retain younger people into apprenticeships.
“However, change has been very slow and SEMMA applauds Volgren implementing their own initiatives to address the challenges they face in attracting and retaining apprentices.”
The pay rise is part of Volgren’s long-term strategy to yield smarter, more robust employees to ensure the company is not hit by the looming skills shortage that will see more qualified workers leave the industrial workforce than enter it.
Volgren Australia production manager Laurence Sergovich said the Volgren initiative would allow young people to give up second jobs and focus on apprenticeship studies.
He said it would also break down the stereotype that apprenticeships were poorly paid positions available only for early school leavers.
Mr Sergovich said fourth year apprentices would receive mentors to guide them into tertiary studies and help them strive to become managers, and that the company was in negotiations with Kangan Batman Tafe to deliver on-site theory at its Dandenong South production centre.
Mr Sergovich said the apprentices, employed via Link Employment and Training, would become ‘high potential’ individuals as a result of the plan.