A range of degree-level apprenticeships giving employers early access to talented individuals across a number of occupations starts next year.
Commencing in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland, the groundbreaking initiatives, powered by Ai Group, industry and the education sector, will give companies the opportunity to host ambitious apprentices completing university degrees at the same time.
The apprentices will earn the same qualification as if they had enrolled in university full-time but will benefit from years of hands-on work experience.
The streamlined pathway enables them to complete the combined knowledge and skills across both qualifications at the same time in reduced timeframes.
Businesses, meanwhile, benefit by gaining skilled tradespeople with advanced understanding in their fields.
They also gain access to a more diverse group of future graduates and have the opportunity to help shape the development and job readiness of apprentices in the program.
In Victoria, the Ai Group Centre for Education & Training (Ai Group CET) has partnered with industry and the Victorian Government to create an electrical dual qualification, combining an A Grade Electrotechnology Apprenticeship with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree. Federation University and NECA Education and Careers are collaborating to deliver the qualifications.
An apprenticeship in systems engineering is also available, through a partnership between Ai Group CET, industry and RMIT University.
This program will enable a person to complete an accredited Bachelor of Systems Engineering while employed as an apprentice.
An apprenticeship in software engineering is available in South Australia, through a collaboration with the Ai Group CET, industry and the University of South Australia.
BAE Systems, Consunet and the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) have already joined the five-year program, seizing the opportunity to create a pipeline of talent for their businesses.
“South Australia is facing a shortage of software engineers, and this is expected to surge as the state continues its development in the defence-related manufacturing sector,” Ai Group CET’s Executive Director Megan Lilly said.
“Some of the companies taking part in the degree-level apprenticeship program operate in this sector, making it a golden opportunity for both candidates and employers.”
Here, the Ai Group CET is partnering with TAFE Queensland and the University of Southern Queensland to create an apprenticeship that offers a dual electrical qualification.
The pathway commences with a regular electrical apprenticeship that includes the Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician (UEE3082) and leads to an Electrical Mechanic licence, with a Bachelor of Engineering Science (Electrical & Electronic Engineering).
The outcome will be a licensed electrician with advanced engineering knowledge able to design, install and commission and maintain these advanced systems.
The Ai Group Apprentice and Trainee Centre is actively recruiting both businesses and apprentices to the programs.
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Wendy Larter is Communications Manager at the Australian Industry Group. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a reporter, features writer, contributor and sub-editor for newspapers and magazines including The Courier-Mail in Brisbane and Metro, the News of the World, The Times and Elle in the UK.
