How to hire apprentices and trainees

What are apprenticeships and traineeships?

Before getting started, it’s helpful to understand what apprenticeships and traineeships are and how they work. Learn more about apprenticeships and traineeships.

Your role at a glance

As an employer, your role is important to helping your apprentice or trainee succeed. Your guidance helps them grow into a confident, capable and valuable member of your team. Your role includes:

Using a Group Training Organisation

Some employers choose to host an apprentice or trainee through a Group Training Organisation (GTO), rather than hiring directly.

A Group Training Organisation is the legal employer of an apprentice or trainee and manages the training contract and government paperwork. In this model, your business becomes a host employer.

As a host employer, you are not tied to a direct employment contract. Your day-to-day role in training, providing a safe workplace and supervision remains largely the same. The Group Training Organisation takes care of employment arrangements, while you supervise and support the apprentice or trainee in your workplace. This allows you to engage an apprentice or trainee for a period that works for your business.

Find out more about Group Training Organisations and the benefits for employers.

Step-by-step guide to hiring an apprentice and trainee

We know it’s important to find the right people for your team and get positions filled fast. That’s why we developed a step-by-step guide for you to make hiring easy and simple.

Reach out to an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider* who can:
Support recruitment and answer hiring related questions.
Identify an appropriate apprenticeship or traineeship.
Suggest a suitable TAFE or registered training organisation.
Inform you of the financial incentives you may be eligible for.
Know the costs involved
Tuition fees: Employers are usually required to reimburse these fees.
Wages: You will need to pay you apprentice or trainee wages in line with the relevant award or enterprise agreement.
To find your award, use the Find My Award tool.
* You may have previously known Apprentice Connect Australia Providers as Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) providers and Apprenticeship Network Providers (ANP).
There are many ways you can find an apprentice or trainee. Good places to start include:
Skills and Jobs Centre
Contact your local Skills and Jobs Centre as they can help you connect you with teachers who work with students interested in apprenticeships and traineeships. This may include students currently studying relevant Certificate II courses, or where available, students who have completed a pre-apprenticeship program.

Schools
Contact Local Learning and Employment Networks and local school careers teachers. They can help link you with students who are considering apprenticeships or traineeships when they leave school.

Government-supported job boards
Advertise your vacancy through government supported services such as Workforce Australia, your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider, or your local council.

Commercial job sites
You can advertise apprenticeships and traineeships through online job sites and social media platforms, just like regular employment opportunities. Make sure to include a clear job title, the required year level and whether the vacancy is an apprenticeship or traineeship alongside the regular job description.

Industry and trade association job boards
Many industry and trade associations promote job opportunities to their members, which can help you reach people already interested in your industry.

Group Training Organisations
You can contact a Group Training Organisation to host an apprentice or trainee without hiring directly. The Group Training Organisation is the legal employer, while you provide day-to-day supervision and on-the-job experience in your workplace. Find a Group Training Organisation on the recognised Group Training Organisations list.
The next step is to meet the potential apprentice or trainee to decide whether they’re the right fit for your business. Once you have selected your apprentice or trainee and they have agreed to your offer of employment, contact an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider to start the sign-up process. They help you:
Become an approved employer: Apply to become an approved employer with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, so you can hire an apprentice or trainee.
Sign a training contract: You and the apprentice or trainee must sign this within 14 days of them starting the job. This formalises the apprenticeship or traineeship.
After hiring your apprentice or trainee, here’s what you need to know about supporting their supervision and training:

Workplace induction: Provide a workplace induction to help your apprentice or trainee understand your business, their role, workplace expectations and health and safety requirements (for example, White Card training, licences or safety tickets).

Supervision: Apprentices and trainees need to be supervised by a good role model who has the right qualifications and skills. Refer to our supervision guidelines for more information.

Formal training: Your apprentice or trainee must be enrolled in formal training at a TAFE or registered training organisation within three months of starting work.

Training plan: The TAFE or registered training organisation will provide training advice and develop a training plan with you. This describes what the apprentice or trainee will learn on-the-job and whilst in training.

Help for me

There’s plenty of support for your apprentice or trainee, including:
- Apprenticeship Support Officer Program – support for apprentices aged 15 to 28 during their first year of training.
- Apprentice Helpdesk.
- Apprentice Employee Assistance Program.
- Financial assistance.

Downloadable guide

Employer guide to hiring apprentices and trainees

PDF 215.08 KB

Updated 16 April 2026

Types of support	Free support resources
General support	The Apprentice Helpdesk – free information and advice for apprentices, trainees and employers. Phone number: 1300 311 820 Email: apprenticehelpdesk@djsir.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window)
Compliance support	Information on wages, training, safety and workplace. WorkCover insurance obligations.
Mental health support	Mental Health Training Program – free sessions to help employers understand how to support apprentice wellbeing.
Financial support	Financial incentives and help your business could be eligible for. Low Income Health Care Card – check whether your apprentice or trainee has a Low Income Health Care Card, as this may reduce tuition fees. If they don’t have one, they may be eligible to apply through Services Australia. .
Helpful guides	Fair Work Ombudsman – Guide to taking on an apprentice. Apprenticeships jargon buster. WorkWell Toolkit – helps employers set up young workers for success.