Would-be sparky catches eyes in apprenticeship hunt

JESSE Martin took a different approach to landing an apprenticeship: he put his résumé on the shelf.

Facing a tight job market for first-year roles, the mature-aged apprentice began leaving his details at electrical wholesalers across Geelong to get noticed.

He said it was clear even before finishing his pre-apprenticeship that breaking into the industry would not be easy.

“I spoke to a lot of sparkies and they educated me on the industry, and they said it’s as hard as it’s ever been to find an apprenticeship,” Martin said.

“I found that 85 to 90 per cent of the ads that came up for apprentices were from second year onward.”

Determined not to be left waiting for work, Martin started looking early.

With his classmates chasing the same limited opportunities, he knew he needed to be proactive.

There were also early concerns that mature-aged apprentices faced additional barriers.

Despite the narrative, he said many businesses were open to the benefits of older learners.

“I was concerned in the beginning. I was less concerned in my interview, but that was because the company I’m with is big enough that they’re happy to absorb the extra cost if they want to,” Martin said.

“It comes down to essentially who can afford the extra cost and making the most of having someone more switched on who is most readily available.”

Incredibly happy with the apprenticeship he has been able to secure, Martin is hopeful to complete his entire qualification at one place.

He questioned the amount of movement by some apprentices, as evidenced by the number of job ads for second year positions.

While he has adjusted well, he admits it can feel unusual being both the oldest and least experienced on site.

“I consider myself to be pretty young,” Martin said. “I’m only 32, but I would get on-site and a lot of these guys are very young.

“I had a lot of people say, ‘What took you so long getting into an apprenticeship?’

“But I’m just there to work and I’m really enjoying it.”

Data released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research shows more than 61,000 apprentices are in training within the state of Victoria at the end of September 2025.

Just over 4,000 apprentices finished their training in the reporting period.