TENS of thousands of carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other tradies will be able to fast-track their apprenticeships and travel across state borders to earn higher pay as part of a bold training blueprint.

In the biggest shake-up to apprenticeships for years, the Gillard government will also back a pay rise to take early-year apprentices off poverty-level wages - as low as $10 per hour.

But $1.2 billion in training subsidies paid to employers will be subject to a searching review amid concerns that fast-food outlets such as McDonald's are using them as a wage subsidy - rather than for genuine training.

The government will today unveil plans to slash bureaucratic "red tape" in a concerted move to establish a national system for apprenticeships - tackling concerns about a two-speed economy.For the first time, Australia will have a unified system instead of the current state-by-state framework, under reforms to be announced in Melbourne by Workplace Relations and Skills Minister Chris Evans.

The changes will cut the time many apprentices will have to spend earning rock-bottom wages before they gain their full qualifications.

An independent review found the 400,000-strong apprenticeship system was far too complex with low wages contributing to a damning 52 per cent drop-out rate.

Apprentices are able to qualify in two years in some states, while the same qualification requires four years of training across the border.

Fair Work Australia plans to undertake a significant review of apprentice wages and the government will back a substantial increase in pay levels - particularly for early-year apprentices.

Senator Evans said the apprentice blueprint would make it "easier and quicker for Australians to get the skills they need to access the high paying skilled jobs of the future".

"We want to create a harmonised system that operates across all states - a system that allows an apprentice or trainee to move and take their apprenticeship with them," Senator Evans told The Daily Telegraph.