Sydneysider Alex Wang had been working in IT support for the same small company for eight years when he suddenly found himself out of a job.
"My boss was getting old and he just decided to retire and close the business," Wang said.
This event proved to be the very nudge Wang needed to make a big move he had been mulling for years.
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Despite holding a masters degree in IT from Sydney University, Wang said he felt his career had stalled and he needed a change.
So early last year, at the age of 44, Wang started an electrical apprenticeship.
Wang is part of a new wave of older Australians who have been busy reskilling and changing careers during the pandemic.
In 2020, mature-age apprentices made up 13.9 percent of all apprentices nationally, according to data from the National Centre for Vocational Education.
But, by 2022, mature-age apprentices – aged over 24 – accounted for more than a third of all apprentices.
Wang said taking on an apprenticeship with Brooks Australia, a company specialising in fire alarms, meant he could still use some of the skills he had developed during his IT career.
"It's a different industry but some of the skills are the same," he said.
"My technical background means that I have some experience already in assembling products, troubleshooting and product testing," he said.
Wang said while he was initially anxious about going back to school at TAFE as part of his four-year apprenticeship, it soon turned into one of the highlights of his week.
"I'm 45 years old and I have a lot of classmates who are around 20 years old," he said.
"I was worried that they would be learning faster than me. But it's a good thing actually. It makes me feel younger and it's a lot of fun."
Wang, who has a wife and 9-year-old son, said part of the appeal of apprenticeship for him was being able to earn a wage while studying.
"Without that pay I couldn't afford it because I have my family that I need to support," he said.
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Apprenticeship Support Australia Executive Director Peter Gilchrist said wages for school age apprentices were around $500 per week, while mature-age apprentices in construction could earn as much as $960 per week.
"One of the benefits of the apprenticeship is you are actually earning something while you are undertaking formal qualifications and on-the-job training," Gilchrist said.
"So it can be seen as offering a softer landing on a new career rather than studying full time."
Industries that had seen the biggest increases in mature-age apprentices during the pandemic were construction, health and aged care, he said.
Government employer subsidies for apprentice wages put in place for during the pandemic had boosted apprentice numbers overall during the last two years, while lockdowns in some industries had likely encouraged more mid-life career changes Gilchrist said.
"I think mature-age people were making a transition to industries that were less affected or not impacted by COVID," he said.
Employers struggling to find the right staff often found advantages to hiring mature-age apprentices, Gilchrist said.
"Some of the feedback from employers that we've received is that mature apprentices come with a good amount of work experience," he said.
"They might not have come from the same industry, but they have those basic work experiences."
Increases in apprentice numbers appeared to be tapering off in 2023, as COVID-era government subsidies came to an end, Gilchrist said.
Terms like the "great resignation" or "great reshuffle" were coined during the pandemic to describe a surge in the number of people looking for a career change or a new job.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on June 30 shows the national job mobility rate remained the highest in a decade in February, for a second year in a row, at 9.5 percent.
Career expert Cayla Dengate, from LinkedIn, said there still appeared to be a keen appetite for change among workers despite the effects of the pandemic dissipating.
"We're a few years down the track now but there's still this really strong sense for job seekers that they want to find a job that aligns with their values .. and fits with the flexibility they want in life," she said.
"As the cost of living crunch continues one of the important considerations is also job remuneration."
Increased economic uncertainty appeared to be motivating people to look for more secure employment opportunities, Dengate said, with LinkedIn recording a 28 per cent increase in jobseekers.
However, at the same time, hiring had slowed down by 23 per cent year-on-year and there were now four active applicants for every job opening, she said.
"We've passed that time when there was a real talent shortage and people were desperate to secure the right talent," Dengate said.
"Right now, a job search, or pivot to another industry does require a little bit of planning to make sure you're set up for success."
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