Welder woe and what to do about it

There’s a worldwide shortage of them – and Australia must get cracking to stop being 70 000 short by 2020

Jeff Crittenden from Welding Australia is the warner and he proposes four solutions,

* condensing the existing three-year Certificate III welding apprenticeship into one

* basic welding skills sets in all relevant Registered Training Organisations

* promoting trades training in schools

* TAFEs funded for teaching infrastructure

Which raises a question Jobs and Skills Australia might want to explore when it gets going – how many other trades have similar needs

Campus Morning Mail is an independent newsletter written and published by Stephen Matchett, formerly a long-serving journalist at The Australian newspaper. The daily e-news column receives no undisclosed funding or other assistance from any organisation or individual. Subscribe