Business cuts to on-the-job training have made Australia increasingly reliant on migrants, experts say

Construction and retail in Melbourne. The share of workers getting on-the-job training has fallen from about a third in 2005 to about 20% today, the University of Sydney’s John Buchanan said. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Businesses have demanded governments invest more in skills training even as they reduce such spending themselves, leaving Australia reliant on skilled migrants to avoid falling further behind comparable nations, academics and unions say.

The assessment, made public days before the jobs and skills summit in Canberra, comes as the federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, released draft legislation on Monday that would give $1.5bn in tax incentives for small businesses to lift the skills of employees.