Why Employ an Australian Apprentice

Building the skills capacity of business

Developing the productive skills a business needs to grow is an important issue for employers. This can be done through training-up new employees or upskilling existing staff. In both cases, Australian Apprenticeships have over many years proven to be an effective method of meeting this need. 

Australian Apprenticeships, also known as apprenticeships and traineeships, are employment based, that start with an employer creating a job or using them to enhance the skills of exising staff. 

They are underpinned by nationally recognised qualifications that have been developed through industry consultation. Training assessment is based on an employee demonstrating competence in a skill, and is delivered by providers that are quality assessed nationally and often also at a state and territory level.

Employers also have a role in contextualising and consolidating the learning in their own workplace practices and to their needs. This requires an active approach and attention to an employee’s progress through training.

Employers retain the flexibility of using the method of recruitment they prefer and also the control over the decision about who they employ.

Apprenticeships and traineeships cover hundreds of occupations across around 50 industries. Employment can be full-time or part-time, but they must be permanent positions.

Apprentices and trainees are paid a training wage which recognises that some of their time is spent in training, but generally other employment rights and conditions are as for other employees.

The Australian, state and territory governments support apprenticeships and traineeships in various ways. These may include providing funding for the training delivery, offering incentives to employers and financial support to employees, funding support services such as Apprenticeship Network providers and many local level initiatives, and the funding of programmes like the Higher Apprentice initiative and pre-apprenticeships.     

Employers can be involved without directly employing the apprentice or trainee by accessing the services of a Group Training Organisation (GTO). In these cases employers 'host' an employee for a period of time while the GTO is the employer managing the detail.

Licence recognition

Licencing standards and requirements can centre on business operations, performance of certain tasks for example the 'Responsible Service of Alcohol', or the provision of a product or service like plumbing.

When apprenticeship and traineeship qualifications are developed industry representatives consider the licencing requirements relevant to occupations and to business needs.

Apprenticeships and traineeships, particularly in the area of the 'traditional trades', are often strongly connected to professional standards and licencing of occupations. In some cases there may be additional steps to achieve full recognition.

There are instances where apprenticeships and traineeships are generally accepted as the best measure of the skills required to work in an occupation or industry, without there being a formal requirement to gain a licence.

It is a good idea to check with the relevant industry association or government agency to verify licensing needs, which may vary from state to state.  The Licence Recognition site provides links to a range of relevant websites in states and territories.