Businesses looking to offer an apprenticeship have a range of different options available to help find the right candidates for their workplace. However, with dropout rates for these courses around 50 per cent, retaining apprentices is more important than ever.
Services like Apprenticeship Central are just one way that you can find potential employees. This online resource is the only one of its kind in Australia, offering a place for employers to upload positions and find candidates which match the needs of their business.
Apprenticeship Central also has dedicated resources to help you build a job description that will appeal to potential employees and motivate them to get in contact with you.
But once you’ve found an apprentice, how can you make sure they are going to stay within your company?
The first thing to consider is your induction processes. First impressions are always important, but this increases considerably when you have employees taking on their first proper jobs out of high school.
With 60 per cent of apprentices who drop out doing so in their first year, according to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), getting first impressions right is essential.
Making sure that new employees are properly integrated when they first begin is therefore going to be vital for them to have a rewarding experience with your company. It’s also important to cover base skills like health and safety at this time, so that apprentices are not at risk while on your premises.
You should also be clear of the expectations which will be placed on an apprentice, right from the start. New staff members will have a lot of different pressures placed on them once they begin a new job, especially when they are also juggling the demands of study for a certificate.
As a manager, you can prevent these stresses from adding up, by taking the time to set down clear expectations and then stick to them over the course of your apprentice’s time with you. Staying honest and transparent about things like workload can be valuable ways to retain new employees.
The rewards for keeping an apprentice within your company are considerable. Once your new worker becomes fully qualified, they can be a valuable addition to your team, having already had considerable experience within your work culture.
There are many resources out there to give you more guidance on retaining your newest staff members. Apprenticeship Central has a whole section of tips which can help you to keep apprentices engaged with your company.
