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WORKFORCE planning is the reason being used to explain why, for the first time, no new apprentices will start in January at Essential Energy. Senior union officials visited Port Macquarie on Monday and said their members were concerned about the drastic decline. “At the start of 2011, Essential Energy hired 129 new apprentices across regional NSW,” said Neville Betts, assistant state secretary of the Electrical Trades Union. “In 2014 the number of new apprenticeships offered had plunged to just 30. “And now the company has abandoned any intake of new apprentices for the start of next year.” A spokeswoman for Networks NSW said Essential Energy would recruit new apprentices, but the numbers would be determined in a pending decision from the Australian Energy Regulator. “Apprentice recruitment will be delayed for about six months until these plans are determined,” the spokeswoman said. “We expect to start recruiting for the class of 2015 apprentices early next year, with new apprentices to start work mid-year.” All businesses under Networks NSW have a responsibility to be efficient and keep customers’ average charges low. “Decisions about the size and make up of field workforces are based solely on the needs of customers and the networks that serve them,” the spokeswoman said. Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams said the decision to delay recruitment showed acumen. “Having owned a business myself, I think it’s the prudent and sensible thing to do,” Mrs Williams said. But unionists remained sceptical about the recruitment process. “The NSW Government has decided it would rather make a quick buck now, and leave future generations with the inevitable problems caused by skill shortages,” Neville Betts said. Mr Betts said any reduction in workers will impact on the building, maintenance and repair of poles and wires.

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