Maximise your training investment.

Hiring an apprentice or trainee is a good investment, allowing you to meet your workforce demands and skills gaps while facilitating employment and training opportunities. But there’s a lot more work involved in taking on an apprentice or trainee than just teaching them the tools of the trade.

New apprentices and trainees are often school leavers with little to no experience in the workplace. This means they must always be supervised, even more so for apprentices working in heavy industries where they could be exposed to potential workplace hazards. You can’t just leave them to their own devices; investing in an apprentice or trainee requires a commitment to supervise and guide them properly, keep them safe, and help them learn.

After you’ve hired and onboarded your new apprentice or trainee, the next challenge is keeping them engaged so they stay for the length of their training contract.

According to a recent report into apprenticeships and traineeships, non-completion is a key issue facing the sector, with 45% of apprentices and trainees in NSW cancelling in their first year. “Early attrition is not only disruptive to both the apprentice and employer, it is also highly costly - the first 12 months is when the apprentice/trainee is least productive and requires the most supervision and so constant churn at these early stages can impose a very high burden in terms of time, money and productivity.”

Addressing early attrition is therefore imperative to a successful apprenticeship or traineeship, with the support of strategies like mentoring and coaching to keep them on track and address any issues that arise.

At Zeal Futures, apprentices are recruited and employed and then paired with a dedicated Workforce Solutions Specialist (WSS) to support them throughout their training lifecycle. The apprentice/trainee then completes on-the-job training with another business, learning skills relevant to the industry and their qualification.

The WSS manages the relationships between apprentices/trainees and the other business, conducting regular monitoring visits or ‘check-ins’ to monitor their progress and work performance while also providing personal and professional mentoring to support the completion of their qualification.

Zeal Futures CEO Sharon Smith said the organisation’s Workforce Solutions Specialists have been able to turn around challenging issues that may have resulted in a cancellation without intervention.

“When any issues or concerns are identified, our WSS can intervene and address these concerns to get the apprentice/trainee back on track and ultimately complete their qualification,” she said.

“This is important because turnover of apprentices as a result of non-completions is very costly for businesses, with training and supervision taking up a lot of time and money, which then impacts business productivity and efficiency.

“We’ve had situations where an apprentice was not performing well at work, however during performance counselling we uncovered personal issues like financial stress or domestic violence. Our Workforce Solutions Specialists have then referred the apprentices to appropriate services, helping them get back on track with their training and secure a permanent job upon completion.”

Through early intervention and specialised skills in addressing issues faced by young people, mentor roles like Workforce Solutions Specialists have a clear positive impact on apprentice/trainee success rates, ultimately maximising a business’ investment in training and development.

Another strategy, which is considered almost a preventative approach to reducing early attrition, is to get it right the first time by matching the right person to the right job. This means understanding the employer’s needs and goals, matching them with the candidate’s interests and capabilities, and ensuring the candidate will be a good fit culturally for the business.

Sourcing quality candidates can be difficult, however, organisations like Zeal Futures, backed by more than 43 years’ experience in vocational education and training, have amassed a wide network of industry, community, government, employment and school connections.

Businesses have reported that the inability to find suitable employees is the biggest factor behind ongoing skills shortages. By building relationships with key stakeholders and delivering targeted programs, such as pre-apprenticeships or school-to-work initiatives like the NSW Government’s Educational Pathways Program, Zeal Futures has been able to tap into a wider pool of potential candidates.

Combined with detailed screening practices and onboarding procedures, Zeal Futures is able to find the best possible match for each role.

According to Ms Smith, one of the barriers to engaging apprentices and trainees is the long-term commitment required.

“We can rotate apprentices and trainees to another business, making the whole process low-risk and flexible for your business. We can also place out of trade apprentices, which means we can send you a more experienced apprentice if that’s what your business needs,” she said.

“This also means that apprentices or trainees don’t necessarily have to cancel if you run out of work for them, and they can still complete their qualification.

“Another barrier to engaging apprentices and trainees is the administrative burden that comes with it. When you hire directly, you not only have to supervise and train your apprentice/trainee, but you also take on complex and onerous tasks like payroll, insurances, worker’s compensation claims and compliance, applying for government subsidies or incentives, managing training contracts and enrolments, and managing regulatory obligations with training and WHS.

“We offer a full suite of services to streamline and simplify the process, taking care of all the administrative and regulatory functions. This saves you time and money so you can focus on delivering quality training and achieving your business goals, whether it’s capitalising on new industry knowledge or skills, growing your team, increasing efficiencies or boosting productivity.

“For every $1 you invest with us, you’ll get more back in value. If you want to hire an apprentice or trainee but don’t have the resources or expertise to do it yourself, speak to us about how we can support your business.”