Apprenticeships and Traineeships unlock business growth
According to Apprenticeship Victoria bringing apprentices and trainees into your business not only means that you are investing into the future of your workforce, but can also provide you with a productive and competitive edge.
The most recent data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research shows the national trend for total number of apprenticeship and traineeship completions was 0.5% down from the September 2022 to the September 2023 quarter, resulting in a total of 24215 completions across the country for the period.
The image below shows Victoria’s contribution of 4540 completions (+8.2%) during this time.
Apprentices and trainees – completions (September quarter 2023). Source: NCVER
In addressing workforce gaps it can be tempting for decision makers to draft job advertisements looking for fully trained candidates, ideally with some years of relevant industry experience. In following this strategy, businesses will often encounter skills shortages in their sector and receive few or no responses from suitable candidates, a cycle which is often repeated over and over with the same outcome.
If you have been in this situation before or are currently facing this dilemma, don’t rinse and repeat.
It may be time to change tactics and adopt a more long-term approach and work towards increasing organisational capacity by bringing in apprentices or trainees.
SS Sign Group Ravenhall
A business in the City of Melton that has already seen many apprentices go through their ranks and continue to work in the business is Ravenhall-based signwriting business, SS Sign Group.
SS Sign Group Business
Simon Spiteri started the business 23 years ago and for the first 15 years was working as a sole trader, occasionally working with contractors when times got busy.
“About eight years ago I became an employing business and I’ve had many good experiences with my apprentices over the years and only one where things didn’t work out,” Simon said.
“They are very young when they start and have never worked eight hours a day but with the right training, support and patience you can build them up to a skilled worker, who takes no shortcuts and does the job exactly how it should be done and at a high quality.”
With his business continuing to grow, Simon is once again looking for young people wanting to get started in the industry, so the company placed an ad on Melton Jobs Hub. The ad is short and to the point and most importantly includes many positive key words (friendly, caring, patient, well equipped, variety) that instil confidence in potential candidates.
“We are taking a long-term approach with this as it’s important for us to find the right candidate. The most important thing for us is that it’s someone who fits our team environment, has an eye for detail, is enthusiastic and has strong communication skills”.
Poolside Melton
Poolside Melton is a thriving business in the Melton Industrial Estate with success stories to tell on the subject of apprenticeships and traineeships.
Business owner Serana Nicoll says trainees and apprentices have always formed part of their strategy.
“We have just had our trainee Laura complete her Certificate 3 in Retail and she has already stepped up into a bigger role as our Service Administrator, which means she has more responsibilities now, including managing our casual staff,” Serana said.
“At age 20 Laura is smashing it and making a great contribution to the business.
Poolside Business
“The training organisation that our Apprenticeship Network Provider (MEGT) put us onto was very flexible and offered all the theoretical components online, which allowed Laura to maximise her time working hands on in the business.
“The training was quite in-depth, and Laura would often record videos in our store that she could then send in for assessment.”
Interested in working with an apprentice or trainee?
Visit Apprenticeships Victoria to make sure you don’t miss the first steps that businesses need to complete to get started and tap into the support and knowledge of your local Apprenticeship Network Provider.
To know what financial support you may be eligible for as an employer (wage subsidy, hiring incentive, Disability Australian Apprentice Wage Support) visit Financial support for employers | Australian Apprenticeships.