17/04/2026
It’s been a real joy having my daughter spend the week with the Arcade team for her work experience during her final year of school. It feels like only yesterday I was her age, a second-year apprentice myself, holding her chubby little body in my arms after those long workdays. I am truly excited for her future and the prospect of her possibly undertaking her own apprenticeship.
Whilst excited, I hold real concerns for new apprentices entering the workforce in my home state of Victoria. In both the construction and service sectors, apprentices are utilised as cheap labour. This is not a problem in itself, but it becomes one when they are unsupervised by a qualified tradesperson.
We are all complicit in the exploitation of apprentices. RTO’s, apprenticeship network providers, the VRQA, BPC, tradespersons and licensed supervisors all collectively play their part in creating the best possible environment for apprentices to succeed both at trade school and in the field.
Adon De Corrado - Arcade director & licensed plumbing practitioner
Together we can lift the bar 💪🛠️🫶