A lot of people can not see how apprenticeships can use eLearning. But it is probably one of best areas to use it in. Apprenticeships in Australia generally last for 4 years. In this time the 'student' will work full time in their profession, and will 'blocks' of time off work at various times of the year to study.

In this study block the student will go to a TAFE campus and study for a few weeks. This is generally a block of 3 weeks.

When surveying apprentices there is always one thing that sticks out, "I forget what I learnt last year. So when I go to study this year, it is like learning everything all over again".
An obvious solution to this problem is eLearning, for a few reasons.

1. All year access. Students can access the work they have done in previous years until they graduate their apprenticeship. This means that they can be using the information accessible to them all year, when they need, and when they are using it in 'real life'.

2. Taking this one step further is, making eLearning accessible all year round. For example, John Love Electrical apprentices do not take time off from work at any stage of the year for TAFE. Instead, they do their TAFE online, via eLearning, after work and on weekends. The benefits for them are enormous, including extra pay (because they are paid for the hours of TAFE work they do (like they would normally) but it is now on top of their current working hours), and continuity of work. They can also study subjects one after the other, instead of in blocks.