An apprenticeship is the traditional way that people have learned the skills of a particular trade. As an apprentice you have a job with an employer and you undertake "off the job" training with an organisation such as TAFE. You will normally attend this training 1 day per week, or possibly as a block of 5 days every 5 weeks. This will tend to vary according to your job and where you live.
Apprenticeships normally take four years to complete. Like any employee, you are entitled to sick leave, holidays and other benefits.
As an apprentice, you get:
- a job
- accredited training
- ongoing advice and support
- financial assistance
-
a nationally recognised qualification
For complete information about apprenticeships, click here.
Another really useful site is the "Australian Apprenticeships Pathways" site - it has a lot of useful information and you can access it here.
Australian Apprenticeships:
Australian Apprenticeships are similar to Apprenticeships and cover both apprenticeships and traineeships. The cover more areas that the traditional apprenticeships and are competency based. This means that achieving a complete apprenticeship (or traineeship) is not so linked to a set period of time, but rather, demonstrating that you have developed the required knowledge and skills for that occupation. If you learn quickly, it means that you can complete your training sooner. There are now Australian Apprenticeships available in more than 500 occupations.
Training for an apprenticeship is quite flexible - it can be "on the job" (with your employer), "off the job" (with a training provider such as TAFE) or a mixture of both.
For complete information about Australian Apprenticeships, click here.
To see potential career pathways within certain industries, you can look at the "Job Pathways Charts" - you can access these at www.aapathways.com.au/Career-Resources/Job-Pathway-Charts-Link/Job-Pathways-Charts-PDF.
When applying for Apprenticeships and Traineeships (and a lot of jobs), you will often have to do an Aptitude Test. These are designed to see how well you are suited to a particular type of job or industry. You can try practice Aptitude Tests for a range of different industries at www.aapathways.com.au/Career-Resources/Practice-Aptitude-Quizzes
School Based Apprenticeships:
It is possible to complete part of an Apprenticeship while you are still at school. In a School Based, Part Time Apprenticeship, you complete part of your Apprenticeship part time and complete your HSC as well. A school based, part time apprentice will normally complete the first year of their apprenticeship while they are at school and then complete the rest of the apprenticeship full time once they have completed school.
You would normally work with your host employer for between 6-8 hours per week, plus some time in the school holidays.
As an school based, part time apprentice, you get:
# a job
# accredited training
# ongoing advice and support
# a training wage
# an HSC
# a nationally recognised qualification
For complete information about Part Time, School Based Apprenticeships, click here.
Group Training Companies:
A Group Training Company is an organisation which employs trainees and apprentices and then "hires" them out to host employers where they do their training. Group training can be a great way to go if you are looking for an apprenticeship or traineeship as they provide you with a lot of extra help and support.
They also often have access to apprenticeships and traineeships that individual employers will not offer. For example, a builder might not want to take on an apprentice because they are worried that the amount of work they have is not enough to make it possible to put on an apprentice. A group training company can put on an apprentice and then hire that apprentice out to a number of builders. You get very good training because you get to work with a number of different people.
The Group Training Australia website has some really useful podcasts on a range of different job/career areas. You can access these podcasts here.