But despite what Year 12 students may have heard, university is not the be-all and end-all for school leavers, says Luke Radford, the head of one of Australia's largest apprentice and trainee employment agencies.

"People think (university) is where the the real opportunities are for them to earn a good income, but what they don't realise is the huge salaries that are out there for people who do apprenticeships or traineeships," he said.

There's no HECS debt at the end either, and trainees and apprentices are paid along the way.

Mr Radford has seen a steady decline in the number of school leavers taking up apprenticeships in the past ten years, contributing to a skills shortage that's been exacerbated by the pandemic.

"There is a huge shortage of tradies out there and we're not bringing in skilled migrants at this stage, or haven't been for the past two years.

"To be able to build your house, fix your toilet, do your landscaping... there needs to be more apprentices trained up so we can get those essential services happening."

Mr Radford says there are "a lot of vacancies" in the Central West for apprentices and trainees, including multiple NSW government infrastructure traineeships that his agency, Apprenticeship Careers Australia, is currently recruiting for.

The two year traineeships see Year 12 graduates spend eight months at a government agency, eight months with a construction company and eight months with a consulting organisation.

Taitem Whitton, who graduated from Orange High School in 2020, started a government infrastructure traineeship last year and is currently placed with commercial construction company, North Construction, in Orange. She was in the hospitality industry before she made the switch to infrastructure and says the experience has been invaluable.

"I wanted to venture into the business industry and the traineeship happened to open around the time that I was graduating and working full time. It was a good timing to pursue a career."

"At the end of February 2023 I'll have my Certificate IV in Project management practice which I can take into any workplace, or to uni where it chips a year and a half off my course if I choose to follow project management."

Mr Radford says Apprenticeship Careers Australia is also conducting recruitment for traineeships in the Central West in the disability care sector to help meet a skills shortage. The roles are open to people of all ages and backgrounds, including school leavers. Participants will complete a free course, followed by a traineeship placement.