Speaking at a skills conference in Sydney today, Mr Howard turned federal opposition criticism of his government's own performance back onto the states.
He said their governments should provide young people with opportunities in the trades and remove barriers to school-based apprenticeships.
"The state governments essentially run the TAFE system and they run the schools, and major reforms in these areas can only be carried out by state governments," Mr Howard said.
"We're trying to work together with state governments but some of them have been very slow.
"NSW and Western Australia have lagged behind the rest of the commonwealth in allowing school-based apprenticeships, which are no-brainers in my view in the modern world when it comes to skills flexibility."
Mr Howard said the economy needed an adaptable workforce as conditions changed and he added there was also a need for cultural change in regard to older people retraining throughout their career.
He highlighted science, engineering and technology as areas where strong skills would be important for continued economic prosperity.
Mr Howard also said he would examine a proposal by the Australian Industry Group which has called on the government to establish a $1 billion fund to lift the skills of Australia's existing workforce.
It said the proposed Australian Government Skills Fund could be used to divert reform from its current emphasis on entry-level training.
Beazley's invite to business
Meanwhile Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has pledged that business will be given a formal role in helping a Labor government develop policy and may even be allowed to sit in on cabinet meetings.
"Labor will establish a council of business advisers to operate as an ongoing source of business consultation and advice to the prime minister," Mr Beazley said.
"The council will be independent of government and will consist of eminent Australian business men and women,” he said.