Labour Market Outcomes of Older Versus Younger Apprentices: A Comparison of Earnings Differentials

Over the last decade, there has been a large increase in the number of individuals completing an apprenticeship, with the growth in numbers particularly strong amongst those age 25+ when starting their apprenticeship. This paper analyses the earnings differentials of those who complete their apprenticeship, relative to those who start an apprenticeship at the same level but do not complete. The differentials are estimated using a difference-in-differences framework, thus controlling for differences between groups captured by pre-apprenticeship earnings. The results consistently show that individuals who began their apprenticeship when aged 19-24 receive a larger increase in their daily earnings post-completion, relative to non-achievers, than individuals who began their apprenticeship when aged 25+. Subsequent analysis shows that for women with Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeships, and for men at the Intermediate level only, this difference between age groups is mostly due to the older apprentices receiving a smaller differential within the same framework. For males with Advanced Apprenticeships, the difference between age groups is mostly due to the older apprentices training in areas with lower differentials.