Employers 'dragging the chain' on apprenticeships TRAINING figures have disputed an employer group's claims that colleges are wedded to a "time-served" model of apprenticeships, saying employers themselves are applying the brakes. The Australian Industry Group says a focus on time, rather than competency, is among a series of problems afflicting the apprenticeship system. Apprenticeship delivery remains in the grip of time-served approaches by many registered training organisations (RTOs), says an AiG fact sheet released on Tuesday.