Launching in 2026, the Industry Accelerated Apprenticeship Pilot (IAAP) is an Australian-first and will support up to 1,000 new apprenticeships across seven critical trade pathways.
South Australia’s construction sector is facing significant workforce shortages, particularly in trades such as carpentry, civil construction, and plastering.
Planning by the Department of State Development shows the state will need an estimated 78,000 additional vocational qualifications over the next five years to meet forecast demand.
The pilot has been designed to meet the demands from projects including the Torrens to Darlington, the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, new housing, and defence initiatives such as AUKUS.
The program focuses on seven high-demand trades: carpentry, cookery, painting, civil construction, plant operations, mechanical engineering, and fabrication engineering.
It builds on South Australia’s existing flexible apprenticeship framework, which already allows early completion in some trades. Training will be tailored to real-world job requirements, with intensive on-the-job learning and quality assurance from Group Training Organisations (GTOs).
The following pathways will be shortened:
- Certificate III in Carpentry, which includes roles such as joiners and carpenters, will go from 48 to 36 months
- Certificate III in Commercial Cookery, which includes roles such as sous and pastry chefs, will go from 48 to 30 months
- Certificate III in Painting and Decorating, will go from 48 to 36 months
- Certificate III in Civil Construction, which includes road and tunnel construction, will go from 36 to 18 months
- Certificate III in Civil Construction Plant Operations, which includes roles like mobile plant operators, road construction workers and civil construction plant operators, will go from 36 to 18 months
- Certificate III in Engineering – Fabrication Trade, which includes roles like fitters and turners, mechanical fitters, toolmaking and welding, will go from 48 to 36 months
- Certificate III in Engineering – Mechanical Trade, which includes roles like technical fitters and machinists, will go from 48 to 36 months
Host employer safety and quality checks undertaken by the South Australian Skills Commission and allows alignment with national skills reforms and workforce needs.
The South Australian Skills Commission will undertake stakeholder engagement across industry, unions, employers, and training providers to ensure the pilot is responsive to workforce demand and project timeframes.
