What are Apprenticeships & Traineeships?
Apprenticeships and Traineeships are jobs that combine work and structured training. Although they vary from one industry to another, apprenticeships and traineeships include:
- paid employment under an appropriate industrial arrangement (for example, an award or enterprise agreement).
- a Training Contract that is signed by both the employer and apprentice or trainee and registered with the NSW Department of Education and Training (DET). The only exception to this rule are trainee apprentices.
- a qualification, delivered by a Registered Training Organisation, that meets the requirements of a declared apprenticeship or traineeship in NSW and leads to a nationally recognised qualification.
How have apprenticeships and traineeships changed?
During the past few years, a number of significant improvements have been made to the apprenticeship and traineeship system in NSW to make training more flexible. For example, some traineeships in NSW can now be:
- delivered completely in the workplace
- customised to meet the needs of employers
- delivered part-time
- offered to existing workers (workers currently in the workforce)
- offered to school students
- established in new industries and at higher qualification levels
- easily linked to further vocational education and training and university studies.
What areas are apprenticeships and traineeships available in?
There are more than 100 apprenticeship vocations available in NSW. Apprenticeships generally last four years and cover traditional trade areas such as building and construction, hairdressing, cooking, the automotive industry, engineering and manufacturing.
There are over 600 traineeship vocations introduced to provide employment and training opportunities in a range of areas, including multimedia, information technology, sport and recreation, hospitality, retail and primary industries.
All apprenticeships and traineeships (designated by the Commissioner for Vocational Training under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001) are recognised trade vocations and recognised traineeship vocations respectively under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001.
What types of apprenticeships and traineeships are available?
There are a number of training options:
- group training companies employ apprentices and trainees and place them with host employers. This provides businesses which may not be able to employ an apprentice or trainee for the full term of the training an opportunity to host apprentices or trainees for varying periods
- both apprenticeships and traineeships are offered full-time
- existing workers (workers currently employed in the workforce) can now access traineeships
- part-time traineeships are becoming increasingly available in a number of industries
- school based part-time traineeships are a recent introduction and allow school students to undertake a traineeship in conjunction with their HSC studies
- trainee apprentices are generally only available in industries such as building and construction and furnishing that require more flexible working arrangements
For further information on Apprenticeships and Traineeships you can visit the Department of Education and Training Website at http://www.det.nsw.edu.au