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With an influx of apprentices joining the trades thanks to free trades training, there’s never been a better time to think about bringing apprentices into your business. At Hirepool, trade businesses are our passion and we get excited about seeing so many Kiwi’s upskilling and pursuing a career in the trades.
We partner with all kinds of trade customers to help keep costs low and productivity high, ensuring you not only get the job done safely, on time and on budget, but that you’re thinking about the future of your business too.
At Hirepool we have trained hundreds of mechanicals apprentices over our 6o plus year history so we understand how valuable they can be to the future of your business and the industry in general and why the quality of the training they get on the job matters.
We’ve canvassed our crew and looked to the experts to pull together some top tips for training an apprentice. In this guide we’ll touch on the benefits of having an apprentice, why training is so important, and how to do it well. Let’s get into it!
An apprenticeship has three parties involved, being yourself, the apprentice and a training organisation, such as BCITO. A training organisation will match you with an apprentice if one does not walk onto your site looking for a job. It will also send advisers to check that training is on track and coordinate assessments.
You are responsible for training and supervising, the training organisation takes care of facilitating training and assessing. The apprentice is of course responsible for learning!
You have to have a training agreement and a training plan if you are taking on an apprentice, and the training organisation will help to create this.
Commonly, a building apprenticeship, electrical apprenticeship or plumbing apprenticeship would take around 3-4 years, and other fields vary in length. It’s important to ensure you can commit before taking an apprentice on.
Trade apprenticeships are an official agreement and require the apprentice to:
Taking on an apprentice might seem like a daunting thing to add onto your plate, but there are so many benefits that make it worthwhile.
Having an apprentice can help with many different aspects of your trade business from improving savings to evening out your workload with an extra set of hands.
Taking on an apprentice is a commitment but rest assured you gain a lot from it, as does the apprentice being upskilled.
A good training program is important so you both get the best outcome, with the apprentice getting qualified, and of course the potential for you to gain a long-term reliable team member down the track that you have already trained yourself!
You can upskill them in key areas that your business needs
When recruiting, finding the right person with the right skills can be tricky at times, so training an apprentice in the key areas you need help with can actually solve that problem for you.
Lower cost to your business
Some businesses need an extra set of hands, but don’t necessarily have the funds to employ an experienced person.
Taking on an apprentice is a lower cost labour option which will help with your bottom line, not to mention there are a number of grants and government incentives for businesses who take on apprentices.
You are starting with a clean slate
Apprentices will generally come to you with little prior knowledge of the field you work in, so you can train them your way without any concern of having to ‘untrain’ them from previous habits.
Extra set of hands
Paying for extra labour to get through a busy period can get very expensive. An apprentice provides the extra set of hands you need, plus you get consistency with having the same person doing the work.
They have incentive to do good work
An apprentice needs to come with a good attitude and work ethic as they need your support to get signed off on tasks.
This provides incentive for them to come in and work hard for your business.
They can bring diversity to your team
Changing up team diversity from age to gender brings with it many benefits from new ways of thinking through to additional skill sets.
Diversity is becoming more and more important for businesses and reflects well.
It can provide opportunities for other people in your team to help with training
Anyone in your team with an interest in leadership will likely enjoy having an apprentice to help, which benefits your business by keeping existing team members satisfied in their career.
Giving back to the industry
Someone has to train the next generation of workers in your field, and having a hand at upskilling is a great contribution to the industry that reflects well on your business.
You can potentially gain a qualified worker if they stay on or come back
Undoubtedly one of the biggest benefits of having an apprentice, is the chance to have them stay on or come back once qualified.
Once you’ve spent the time training them, you are likely to have built up a relationship and helped to mould them into the kind of team member you want to keep! It is very common for apprentices to stay on in a business to work their way up to be a senior member of the team or even a foreman.
It can help your team to be more productive
Senior people in a team can often get caught up doing smaller jobs when their time might be better spent completing the more complex tasks.
Giving the smaller (and great learning jobs!) to an apprentice helps manage workloads effectively.
Having a training plan is one thing, having a good training plan is another!
There are many benefits for taking the time to plan well, so you both get the most out of the agreement.
Helps to build trust between you both
Understanding what you are both responsible for, and agreeing on a plan of action helps to build trust because both parties have been open from the start and understand expectations.
Helps with creating a good work environment for learning
A training plan ensures that for everyday the apprentice is with you on site, they are learning and are ticking off what they need to do to pass.
It can become easy to get bogged down with work and let training slip, so a plan is important.
Ensures you get the best out of the apprentice
If you can plan to match up what the apprentice needs to learn, with what jobs you need done on site, that is the perfect match. A plan ensures they are not spending too much time watching instead of doing.
Ensures the apprentice gets as much knowledge as possible
A good plan helps with ensuring the apprentice can be exposed to lots of great experience on site that they may not be able to learn from book work.
Lining up your apprentice to be around for good learning opportunities is key.
Helps to ensure they are learning the right things
Trade apprenticeships require that certain skills in that field are ticked off so-to-speak, so it’s important to ensure your plan covers everything they need to learn.
We’ve put together a list of helpful tips on how to train an apprentice to get the best results for them and for your business.
Understand what is involved for them to get credits
Once you have a training plan in place that will tell you what needs to be done. The training organisation is responsible for helping not just the apprentice, but you as the employer as well - make sure to ask them about the ins and outs if you are unsure.
Train them on the right stuff
Make sure to follow the training plan, otherwise they could end up in a position where they haven’t done the right work to pass credits.
Though it might be tempting to have them doing coffee runs, it’s important not to assign them too many jobs that don’t offer learning opportunities in your field.
Work study time into their hours
As a part of their apprenticeship, they will need to complete study in order to pass their credits, so if possible, it’s important to work that into schedules when planning when you want them on site.
Don’t overbook them or over work them
Apprentices may not be used to working long physical days at first, so it’s good to keep in mind they might find large workloads harder to balance with study when they first get started. Under your guidance they will get up to speed quickly and more than just their hands will toughen, so you can look to increase the workload as they grow their experience.
Ensure they feel included
Making your apprentice feel included in conversations and also the fun aspects of your workplace such as social gatherings will help with promoting good mental health and will likely make coming to work easier.
Be kind
It can be intimidating for people to join a new industry especially with experienced people who have worked together for a while. A little bit of kindness from your whole crew will help your apprentice feel like they are part of the team too.
Be clear about how you do things
Setting expectations from the start is important so they understand what they need to do. General expectations might be to show up on time, communicate, and be respectful.
Business or site rules
Understanding how to work well on a jobsite is key for a training apprentice who likely hasn’t worked on site before. This could be explaining that they need to tidy up.
Ensure they feel included
Making your apprentice feel included in conversations and also the fun aspects of your workplace such as social gatherings will help with promoting good mental health and will likely make coming to work easier.
Be kind
It can be intimidating for people to join a new industry especially with experienced people who have worked together for a while. A little bit of kindness from your whole crew will help your apprentice feel like they are part of the team too.
Consider regular meetings
A regular check in is a good idea so you can ask how they are getting on with the work and see if they need more support from you. Catching any concerns early will give you time to change things up as needed so they can work effectively.
Ensure they are understanding everything
With so much to learn and take in, it can be easy for a training apprentice to nod their head in agreeance, when they really want more clarity. Always make it clear they can ask if they need more information.
Remember not everyone learns in the same way
Where one person might learn quickly and without much guidance, others may need a bit more time to grasp a concept.
It’s a good idea to try and work with your apprentice to find a good balance for effective learning. They might like to take notes, read reference material, or they may learn best by being hands on.
Adjust how you teach
If your apprentice is not taking the information in well you may need to adjust your teaching style to support them.
This might be by talking slower, giving detailed instructions that aren’t rushed, or repeating information.
Explain why you do things a certain way
It’s important that an apprentice gets the full context of not only how to do the task, but why you should do it that way. Giving examples of what could happen if you don’t do it the right way can help.
Get into the finer details
Assuming the apprentice knows the basics can leave a knowledge gap. The things that are second nature to you, they are still learning so don’t be afraid to get into the details such as the right tools, materials or techniques to use.
Give them guidance on how to work safe
If a training apprentice hasn’t worked on a site before they may not be aware of the safety risks that are present.
Be sure to point out health and safety risks, and advise them on how to work safely so they don’t injure themselves or anyone else.
Provide them with PPE gear and be vigilant
Personal protective equipment is key to keeping safe on site, but using it vigilantly takes some time until it’s second nature.
Hiring PPE gear is a great way to make sure your apprentice has what they need to be safe, especially for jobs where you may not need the gear permanently, such as a harness or hard hat for a specific project.
Ensure they understand safety procedures
Sometimes things don’t go to plan on site, and it’s important a training apprentice knows what to do in those situations. It’s a good idea to let them know how to report accidents and who to go to for first aid needs.
Get more out of your business with our tradie resources on the Trade Hub.
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