Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships Offer Cost Effective, Productive Method for Doing Business
The Australia Apprenticeship program currently provides training for more than 500 different skill sets. The program is also evolving, allowing for training in new fields as they emerge. This nationally recognised training assists employers who want well-trained employees who are knowledgeable about their fields. Having people on staff who have been trained through apprenticeships creates a more cost effective way to do business through higher productivity levels and the improvement of the end product.
Choosing the Right Training Programs
In addition to providing training that is officially recognised throughout Australia, registered training organizations, RTOs, offer a few other services to employers. They can assist in choosing the right training programs for trainees and apprentices. They can also give skill assessments to each apprenticesto find out what skills they excel in and which ones need improvement. With this information, the RTO then customises the training to both the employer and the employees. RTOs also offer workplace support to employers who have apprentices.
Industry-Specific Training
Businesses that need high-quality training for their industries are allowed to shop around for a RTO that excels in that industry-specific training. The User Choice policy has made this training much more flexible, and it allows businesses to work with an RTO to create a customized training plan that caters directly to their business. Businesses can choose from on-site or online training, after-hours training, programs that operate during the workday and other customised solutions.
The Industry Skills Council provides assistance in helping businesses choose the right RTO to train apprentices for their industries. The local Australian Apprenticeships Centre complies information about specific RTO programs and how they compare to the others in the area.
Apprenticeships and Benefits
Some businesses worry about the cost of training an apprentice, and the Australian government provides a number of incentives to offset those costs. There are incentives available from the Australian, state and territory governments to pay for the needed training. There are also employee benefits for hiring an apprentice with a disability, hiring in a drought area and other incentives for hiring apprentices. Depending on the employee’s circumstances, businesses may be eligible for multiple monetary incentives for each apprentice hired.
The standard incentive for employers is $1,250 for hiring an apprentice who gets a Certificate II during his or her apprenticeship. Employers are eligible for additional incentives if the apprentice is disabled, a woman being trained in a non-traditional field for women, a Mature Aged Worker, being trained with skills that are highly needed in the area, being trained in an innovative new field, part of school-based apprenticeships or receiving a higher-level apprenticeship certificate. Rural employers may have other funding incentives available to them when they hire apprentices.
The many benefits given to employers who hire workers who are still learning training in their fields are intended to encourage the hiring and continued education of Australian Apprentices. The incentives make it cost effective to do so, and the sponsored training results in a highly trained workforce.