Australian Apprenticeships a Great Option for Small Business

No matter what industry you are in, investing in training through an Australian Apprenticeship can provide your business with real benefits and contribute to your bottom line.

No two businesses are the same, so Australian Apprenticeships have been designed to be flexible, whilst providing nationally recognized quality training developed by industry for industry.
Australian Apprenticeships covers all apprenticeships and traineeships. They combine time at work with training and can be full-time, part-time or school-based.


There is likely to be an Australian Apprenticeship to suit your business needs, as they are available in a variety of qualification levels in more than 500 occupations across Australia, in traditional trades, as well as a diverse range of emerging careers in most sectors of business and industry.

Business Benefits

Australian Apprenticeships provide a range of benefits:

• People trained to your business requirements
• Offered in a range of industries.
• Offered at all certificate levels up to Advanced Diploma.  
• Flexible choice of Registered Training Organizations (RTOs) who can provide off-      the-job training to your apprentice, with negotiations around timing, location and nature of the training to suit your business needs.
• User choice funding from your State or Territory Training Authority.
• A range of financial incentives for eligible employers.
• Can be full-time, part-time or school-based, depending on what suits your business.    Nationally recognized qualifications and competencies.

Australian School-based Apprenticeships

AustralianSchool-based Apprenticeships are generally available to students from Year 10. It allows students to complete their schooling while starting their Australian Apprenticeship. As a business, employing an Australian School-based Apprentice allows you to:

• Identify commitment and competency of possible future employees
• Ensure availability of skills for your business in the future
• Give young people a chance to enter the workforce.

Employing an Australian Apprentice

The business owner makes all the hiring decisions with an Australian Apprenticeship. Group Training Organisations can organise for you to share an Australian Apprentice with another business if you don't have enough work for an ongoing or full-time position. You can also engage an apprentice part-time while he or she is still at school through an Australian School-based Apprenticeship.

There are many ways to employ an Australian Apprentice including through an Australian Workplace Agreement or Certified Agreement

• There are a number of ways to find an Australian Apprentice:
• Contact your local Job Services Australia provider
• Recruit someone you know or who has been recommended to you
• Advertise the position in a local paper or on Australian Job Search
• Contact your local Group Training provider.
• Engage an Australian School-based Apprentice.
• Employers looking specifically for Indigenous employees can advertise a job on the Indigenous Employment Service website.

If you are interested in employing an Australian Apprentice, the National Code of Good Practice for Australian Apprenticeships explains in plain English what is involved in entering into a Training Contract.

What does it cost to employ an Australian Apprentice?

Wages for Australian Apprentices vary according to certain characteristics e.g. years of school completed, years of training, the type of Australian Apprenticeship and the industry or occupation.
An Australian Apprentice is usually paid a training wage or an apprentice wage under an award, reflecting that the employee spends time in training. You will generally treat the Australian Apprentice in the same way as all your other employees in relation to superannuation, workers' compensation and other entitlements or requirements.

You can, for example, vary the mix of training and working time (providing certain conditions are met), employ an Australian Apprentice on a part time basis, and specify other terms and conditions, which are appropriate to the needs of your business.

We are Australian Chartered Accountants  helping small to medium businesses with a specialty of understanding the space that relates to the Building and construction industry. For more information about our services contact us on 9597 9966, at 563 North Road Ormond Victoria 3204 Australia.