Heritage trades like locksmiths, lead-lighting, struggling to attract apprentices

Kerry Hodgetts loves his job as a locksmith, but acknowledged that the future of his industry faces challenges.

Over his two decades in business, Mr Hodgetts has taken on seven or eight apprentices, with only one seeing the apprenticeship to completion. 

Mr Hodgetts, from Launceston, in northern Tasmania, said traditional lock-smithing could fade into obscurity as people turn more to electronic security for their homes and businesses.

Trying to lock in the next generation

In April, the peak locksmith body in Australia made a national recruitment call-out, appealing to anyone looking for a new line of work — particularly women and school leavers.

The head of the national lock-smithing body labelled the traditional craft a boutique industry that is '"almost invisible" and not front of mind when people are considering a trade.

"We need thousands of people in our industry across Australia," Master Locksmiths Association's Martin Coote said.

With the $30,000 TAFE course fully subsidised by the government and a $10,000 sweetener sign-on bonus, all the stops are being pulled out in the hope the industry does not fall by the wayside.

However, the trade cannot be fully completed from Tasmania, with training blocks on the mainland required to complete the apprenticeship. Cost is also a major barrier for many.

It is not the only artisan craft needing new blood in Tasmania.

Lead-lighting back in fashion

Louise Ridge has been in the lead-lighting business for more than three decades and is almost ready to hang up the tools.

She is one of a handful of people left with the knowledge to undertake essential maintenance on buildings like churches, some of which have windows fused together well over 100 years ago.

"It's just a shame people aren't taking it up," Ms Ridge said.

Ms Ridge said stained glass art had been back in demand lately, and she was busier than ever.

"People love it, it's in vogue and I think they realise it's a dying art and then it's going be harder and harder to get done," she said.

With the materials required slowly getting phased out due to lack of demand, Ms Ridge can see the writing on the wall for the craft, but is proud of the legacy she will leave.

"I like knowing that my work's going to outlive me, and it's going last for another 100 years after I've gone," she said.

Whip-making thriving

Simon Martin's leather whips are in high demand and have been ordered by the likes of Hollywood stars, are framed in state and federal parliamentary offices and adorn the belts of the country's best rodeo stars.

COVID forced the business, in Spreyton in Tasmania's north, to get online and ship internationally — and it paid off.

He has trained five apprentices during his two decades in business — now qualified, they make up the bulk of his production staff.

Although like lock-smithing, it is not something that can be taught locally, with apprentices completing their qualification via an interstate institution with representatives who visit Tasmania.

A 20-foot bull whip made from kangaroo leather takes three weeks to make and the wait to buy one is currently three years.

It will also set you back around $3,000.

It is a lucrative market in a niche field that the next generation are keen to get into.

Seventeen-year-old Tom Hill grew up on a farm in nearby Ulverstone and is 18 months into a five-year apprenticeship in certificate three and four in leather-making.

"It's very cool … there's not many people that have got the chance to have a go at it," he said.

A non-linear career trajectory for Generation Z

The Beacon Foundation is a Tasmanian not-for-profit that works with school-aged children as they embark on their career journey and first work experience.

Strategic partnerships manager Ebony Bridle says young people will have multiple careers in their lifetime, unlike their parents before them, who were more likely to stick with one job, company or role.

"A really important message that a young person can hear is that a career path is not going to be a linear process," she said.

Mrs Bridle said students would usually only "be what they can see" — such as more common apprenticeship roles like builders and electricians.

"We know there's a really strong workforce demand for trades and allied trades," she said.

With a varied career ahead for the next generation, she said core skills were essential as they transitioned through different roles.

"If they're not sure what they want to do, having that sense of self-awareness and knowing their strengths and interests — that the first part-time job or entry-level job for them is really important," she said.

"Because that's where they're building those transferable skills that will lead them to that next opportunity."