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Skills Tasmania

Information for apprentices/trainees

1I want to be an apprentice or trainee

Good decision.  An apprenticeship or traineeship is a learning pathway that combines paid on-the-job training and formal training with a Registered Training Organisation. It provides an opportunity for people in a job to work toward a qualification, whilst also earning money through their employment.

Finding an apprenticeship or traineeship is as much about finding a job in an area you want to work in, as it is about the training. Find out what qualifications are available through an apprenticeship or traineeship in your area of interest.

You can also find out what courses are available as an apprenticeship or traineeship in the industry that you have chosen by browsing the list of courses approved as an apprenticeship or traineeship in Tasmania.

The following steps outline a path that may lead you to an apprenticeship or traineeship.

1. Think through your career path.

Give some thought to what the type of work you are looking for and what industry you might want to work in. Apprenticeships and traineeships are available across almost every industry and role you can think of and are suitable for existing workers that already have a job, as well as new workers to an industry.

Apprenticeships and traineeships can also be undertaken while still at school. School-aged learner apprenticeships and traineeships are designed for young people to commence employment based training while completing year 10, 11 and 12 of schooling.

The following websites are a good starting point to find out more about your career options:

2. Find an employer.

Once you have an idea of your career path or preferred job you will need to find an employer who is interested in employing you as an apprentice or trainee.

You can do this by looking in the job vacancy ads in your local paper or online, contacting an Apprenticeship Network Provider in your region to assist you with job-matching services, directly contacting employers in the industry you'd like to work in, or contacting a Group Training Organisation (GTO). GTOs are organisations that employ apprentices and trainees and place them with a host business for their employment and training.

You can also visit jobsearch.gov.au. This website advertises apprenticeships and traineeships in your local area and has details of your local Job Services Australia providers who can also help you.

Employers will generally require a copy of your resume, so make sure have yours updated and ready to go. A resume generally details your work experience, achievements, school studies, hobbies, career goals and your contact details.

3. Get started.

Once you and your employer are ready to get started with an apprenticeship or traineeship you need to contact an Apprenticeship Network  Provider (ANP). The ANP can consider the specifics of your circumstances, provide information about apprenticeships and traineeships, including the conditions you and your employer need to meet, and help you to set it up if you wish to proceed.

They will get you to sign a training contract for a specified duration to formalise your agreement to work and train together. A training contract is a legally binding document that details the roles and responsibilities of both you and your employer. If you are under 18 your parent or guardian must also sign the contract. You can find more information about the training contract here.

You and your employer will also need to choose a registered training organisation (RTO) that will work with you to achieve the qualification. The RTO will deliver your training and assess your achievement of skills, and issue your qualification when you complete the requirements of the course.

You can either pick an RTO before you talk to the ANP, or they can assist you with this. The RTO can provide details of the costs associated with the qualification you want to do – costs may differ between RTOs.

A list of which RTOs currently subsidised to deliver specific qualifications is available here.

For a list of qualifications available in Australia and registered training organisations relevant to your preferred apprenticeship or traineeship, visit the myskills.gov.au website.

4. Proceed.

Once you and your employer have completed and signed the training contract with your ANP, your RTO will be asked to confirm they are available to provide you with training and assessment services. Once this is confirmed, your ANP will then lodge your training contract with Skills Tasmania.

Skills Tasmania is the government department that administers all apprenticeships and traineeships and training contracts in Tasmania.

Skills Tasmania will validate the information contained in the training contract and, if correct and complete, the contract will be approved and registered. The training contract must be registered for your apprenticeship or traineeship to be activated.

Your RTO will contact you and your employer to develop a detailed training plan once the training contract is registered. The training plan will help you understand what is expected of you to achieve the qualification by outlining what you learn, where you will learn it, how you will be trained, and how and when you will be assessed.

Now it’s over to you to progress through your training, with the help of your employer and RTO.

Once you have obtained the skills needed to achieve the qualification, your RTO will issue you with your qualification and notify Skills Tasmania of your successful completion.

2Information for existing apprentices and trainees

Congratulations, you have signed into a training contract with your employer to gain a nationally recognised qualification.

There is some key information and rules you need to know about your apprenticeship or traineeship.

  1. You are in a legally binding contract with your employer, any amendments require mutual agreement.
  2. You and your employer are required to follow the obligations outlined in the national training contract and the TTAC Policies and Guidelines I PDF 664KB, these have been created to support the training contract.
  3. Your obligations under the training contract are:
    1. To attend work, do your job and follow instructions from your employer, providing they are lawful.
    2. Work towards achieving your qualification as stated in your training contract
    3. Undertake any training and assessment in your training plan.
  4. Within 3 months of commencing your apprenticeship, your nominated registered training organisation (RTO) should have made contact with you and your employer to enrol you for training, negotiate how training and assessment will occur and develop your training plan, you and your employer should be provided with a copy of your training plan.
  5. You should receive supervision whilst you are on the job.  Supervision should be in accordance with the TTAC policies and guidelines and training contract obligations.
  6. It is a legal requirement for your employer to pay you regularly, provide payslips, and wages and entitlements in accordance with the Award you are employed under.

A great source of information is the HELP SHEET for Employers Apprentices and Trainees - 2021.

If you need literacy and numeracy support, TasTAFE and other RTOs provide a number of programs to help with reading, writing and maths.

Need further information?

The pages below may provide you with further useful information.

If you can’t find the information you need, or things aren't progressing well with your training, please contact one of our Workforce Training Consultants or your Apprenticeship Network Provider as soon as possible - we are here to help.

3Travel and accommodation allowance

Travel and accommodation allowances are available to apprentices and trainees who are required to travel, either within Tasmania or interstate, to attend training with their Registered Training Organisation.

The allowances are designed to contribute to the cost of travel and accommodation but may not cover full costs. The allowances are only available to apprentices and trainees who are on a training contract registered in Tasmania.

Eligibility criteria

The Travel and Accommodation Allowance Policy Statement and Guidelines (PDF 125.6 KB) details the eligibility requirements, allowance rates, capping of payments and other information.

What do the allowances cover?

The allowances for attending training within Tasmania covers:

  • Travel – when the apprentice or trainee needs to travel more than 21 kms each way to attend training.
  • Accommodation – where the apprentice or trainee is required to be away overnight, more than 40 kilometres from their usual place of residence, to attend training.

The allowances for attending training interstate covers:

  • Travel – airport transfers plus the cost of economy airfares as booked by Corporate Travel Management on behalf of Skills Tasmania.
  • Accommodation – where the apprentice or trainee is required to be away overnight from their usual place of residence to attend training.

Skills Tasmania will send you the information you need to book your interstate air travel through Corporate Travel Management.

Please note you are required to book and pay for your accommodation yourself.

For full details of eligibility and rates please refer to the Travel and Accommodation Allowance Policy Statement and Guidelines (PDF 125.6 KB).

Please note this allowance is unrelated to the Australian Government allowance paid to apprentices and trainees living away from home to work outside their regional area. More information on Living Away From Home Allowance.

Attending training in Tasmania

If you are eligible to claim the allowances, your nominated RTO will submit your claim form for you. You do not need to tell Skills Tasmania that you are going to claim the allowances.

A Travel and Accommodation Allowance Claim Form (PDF 227.8 KB) (DOCX 165.9 KB) must be completed, authorised by your RTO and sent to Skills Tasmania by your RTO within four weeks of completing each of your training sessions. Please speak to your RTO if you aren't sure if your claim form has been lodged.

All claims are assessed by Skills Tasmania against the eligibility requirements before being paid. You will be notified if your claim is not approved.

If your claim is approved, the allowances will be paid directly into your nominated bank account.

Attending training interstate

Where you are required to travel interstate to attend training you will need to book your flight by contacting Corporate Travel Management. Skills Tasmania will provide you with the information you need to allow you to book and pay for your flights. We will pay any accommodation and associated travel entitlements directly into your nominated bank account. You do not need to have your RTO lodge a form to be paid.

Skills Tasmania will contact your RTO to confirm training dates before contacting you with your booking information.

As flights are booked in advance you will need to contact Corporate Travel Management, to book your flights, as soon as you receive your travel information from Skills Tasmania.

You will need to book and pay for your own accommodation prior to your training dates.

Need more information?

Email travelclaims@skills.tas.gov.au or phone Skills Tasmania on 03 6165 6055

4I'm experiencing problems with my employer or training provider

Are you an apprentice or trainee who is experiencing issues with your employer or registered training organisation?

Issues with your Employer

Things don’t always go as smoothly as we would like. Here are some issues that might arise:

  • You are working unsupervised.
  • You are not being released for training or assessment with your RTO.
  • You are not undertaking work that is relevant to the qualification you are enrolled in.
  • You are being bullied or harassed in the workplace.
  • You feel like you need support in regards to your training such as support for literacy or numeracy or other areas of your apprenticeship or traineeship.

If you do need to talk to someone, please contact a Workforce Training Consultant.

Unpaid wages or entitlements

If you are experiencing issues in regards to unpaid wages or entitlements, not receiving payslips or being paid, you will need to contact Fair Work.

Issues with your training provider

If you are experiencing issues with your RTO and you and your employer have tried to resolve the matter with your RTO, then you should contact a Workforce Training Consultant.

5Your rights and responsibilities

For detailed information about rights and responsibilities as an apprentice, check out the Fair Work Guide to starting an apprenticeship