The Hon. Chris Minns, Premier of New South Wales; The Hon. Steve Whan, Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Joint Media Release, 29 May 2026
The Minns Labor Government has delivered on its election commitment to employ an extra 1000 apprentices and trainees across the public sector, helping tackle skills shortages across essential services and create paid career pathways across NSW.
More than half of the cohort is based in regional NSW, helping create career opportunities closer to home and support local industries and services.
These workers are training in critical skills areas including electrotechnology, civil construction, plumbing, health services, IT, early childhood education, and more.
Western Sydney and Blue Mountains recorded the largest share of apprentices and trainees. Among regional areas, Hunter and Central Coast recorded the highest participation, followed by North Coast and Mid North Coast, Western NSW, and the Riverina.
Women account for 45 per cent of the cohort, reflecting growing participation across apprenticeships and traineeships in a broader range of industries.
This is another key election commitment delivered by the Minns Labor Government as it rebuilds TAFE NSW and the vocational education and training (VET) sector, alongside establishing three TAFE Manufacturing Centres of Excellence, guaranteeing long-term funding certainty for TAFE NSW, and undertaking the first comprehensive review of the VET sector in more than a decade.
Regional breakdown
- Western Sydney and Blue Mountains – 270 apprentices and trainees
- Central and Northern Sydney – 119
- Hunter and Central Coast – 114
- North Coast and Mid North Coast -110
- Western NSW – 109
- Riverina – 96
- Illawarra and South East NSW – 96
- Southern and South Western Sydney – 86
- New England – 56
Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns said:
“Before we came to government, we said we wanted to give young people more opportunities to learn new skills and get good paying jobs. Today’s milestone shows we are making progress.
“When we came to government, we inherited a skills crisis after more than a decade of cuts and neglect.
“This is just one step along the path to boosting the value of vocational education and rebuilding TAFE.”
Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said:
“We said we would employ an extra 1000 apprentices and trainees and we’ve delivered.
“More than three quarters of these roles are aligned to critical skills areas including construction and infrastructure, net zero and energy transition, healthcare, digital, and advanced manufacturing.
“These are real jobs, real skills and real career pathways helping build the workforce NSW needs now and into the future.”
