An incentive program for apprentices in renewable energy industries still has a long way to go to reach its targets, the government concedes.
Less than 20 per cent of places in the federal government program have been taken up in its first year of operation, figures reveal.
Only 1787 spots have been taken of the 10,000 made available by the program, which allows apprentices to receive up to $10,000 to cover training as part of work in the clean energy sector.
Skills Minister Brendan O'Connor said numbers would start to increase after a slow start.
"We'd like to see more there. I think it's increasing faster now that it was at the beginning," he told 5AA Radio on Friday.
"We were really only having a debate about whether climate change was real only some years ago, and because of that denial and delay, I think a lot of things including focusing on renewable energy as a primary source of our energy in this country in the future has not been a priority."
The government has set aside more than $95 million over the next nine years to support the apprenticeship scheme.
Eligible business can receive $15,000 for supporting apprentice training.
Mr O'Connor said skills in clean energy industries would be critical in coming years, ahead of the transition to net-zero emissions.
"There are huge economic benefits of us transforming to cheaper, more reliable, constant energy," he said.
"Apart from the obvious, traditional requirements of supplying energy to households and businesses, there's this extra dimension that people, particularly young people, are aware of in the need to reduce emissions."
Opposition skills spokeswoman Sussan Ley said the apprenticeship incentive program had failed to live up to expectations.
"Brendan O'Connor is using his own policy failure to try to build a case for Labor bringing in more overseas workers instead of training Australians," she said.
"The reality is that Labor's skills policies are not working."
