Australia’s retail buying groups have come together to address a shortage of apprentices in the trade and advance the local jewellery industry. | Image: The Bench Challenge, International Jewellery Fair 2024

Joshua Zarb, Independent Jewellers Collective

Colin Pocklington, Nationwide Jewellers managing director

Anthony Enriquez, Managing Director Showcase

Looking ahead to the next three years, 70 per cent of respondents forecast a need for 20 hours or more per week of jewellery manufacture services.

The average respondent currently employs 0.4 apprentices.

Three to four weeks is considered a reasonable turn around time for completing and delivering a newly designed and manufactured piece of jewellery to customers. Three years ago, 34 per cent of respondents were not able to meet this industry benchmark.

Ratings 7 to 10 in the graph show that 75 per cent of jewellery businesses find it very to extremely difficult to employ a new apprentice jeweller.

Ratings 7 to 10 in the graph show that 87 per cent of jewellery businesses find it very to extremely difficult to employ a new trade jeweller.