Australian Traineeships

Traineeships begin with an employment opportunity within your organisation.

The position can be part-time or full-time depending on your needs.

Different states and territories have specific rules about what constitutes part-time

To be eligible as a New Entrant Trainee, the Training Contract (discussed later) must commence (ie be signed) within 3 months for Full Time staff and 12 months for Part Time staff.

The Training Contract is a formal document that is created between you (as the employer), the Trainee and your State/Territory government.

This agreement will establish the course, duration and stakeholders involved in the Traineeship contract.

This document officially starts (also referred to as lodged or commenced) the Traineeship with your State or Territory.

Don’t worry, you will have help with the government contract, forms and registration from an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider (ACAP).

These Providers are contracted by the government to help facilitate Traineeships (and Apprenticeships) and they are very good at what they do.

If you don’t have a current Provider, we are happy to provide you with information about your options (you can also visit here for more information on the ACAP Providers and how they support you).

In later stages of the process, we will create a Training Plan with you for each Trainee that provides specific details like subjects, units of competency and timelines.

The qualification is the formal “off-the-job” training component of the Traineeship.

The choice of qualification is sometimes very straightforward and other times more complicated.

However, help is available in choosing the right option for a Trainee.

The ACAP and/or ACCM College (as the supporting Registered Training Organisation) can help you look at the available options and choose the best fit.

The qualification is the vehicle for the Traineeship that will also bring together the “on the job” training they receive within your business.

Each State and Territory chooses which qualifications are available as Subsidised Traineeships in their regions.

“Subsidised” means that their Department of Education (or equivalent) will cover some or all of the costs of training provided by the RTO.

Unfortunately, not every qualification is subsided in every state and territory and most Traineeships have a government-mandated enrolment fee.

The good news is where a qualification is subsidised, the enrolment fee ACCM College is required to charge is a much smaller portion of the total training cost.

More information on Traineeship costs is provided further down the Traineeship information page.

NSW, QLD, WA, TAS and ACT offer an exemption and/or rebate on the wages of New Entrant trainees.

If you are paying or liable to pay Payroll Tax – this can be a significant saving amounting to thousands of dollars.

Current details on Payroll Tax Rebates for your State or Territory can be found here: 

Please click on the picture above to download ACCM College's Payroll Tax Rebate handout.

This will help explain how this financial consideration is calculated and how it can help employers offset the costs of Traineeships.

Contact your Accountant or the relevant government body in your state to determine whether you will attract an exemption or rebate, and at what rate and for what period of time.

Traineeships offer the opportunity to enrol your employee in a structured training program that will achieve a nationally recognised qualification.

Most traineeships offer elective subject choices to allow you to tailor the program to your business needs.

By definition, Trainees need supervision.

One of the best ways to develop your existing staff's leadership skills is to give them responsibility for a Trainee.

Helping a new starter learn the ropes, develop their skills and become a valued member of your business will teach those skills.

Leadership opportunities like this are the perfect way to develop the managers and leaders your organisation will need in the future.

You have dedicated a great deal to the industry you support in terms of time, effort, resources and emotional investment.

Helping someone launch their career in your chosen profession is part of protecting the future of your industry.

The structure of a Traineeship helps drive strong outcomes because it combines formal training and real world experience.

Safeguard the future of your industry by ensuring people start on the good foot.

As part of a Traineeship, learners will complete a formal qualification.

This qualification will directly relate to their industry and can be tailored (in most cases) to better align with the specifics of their role.

This qualification is nationally recognised and forms the foundation for future career growth and professional development.

ACCM College will work with you and your Trainee to determine the right qualification for their role and your needs.

On the Job learning is a critical component of a Traineeship.

While the nationally recognised qualification provides extensive theory and practical opportunities to demonstrate their skills, the ability to use those skills in your workplace is at the heart of a Traineeship's benefits.

The skills you teach your Trainee in a real-world setting will set them up for success and a future in your industry.

There is nothing like learning from someone who has direct experience in your industry.

Trainee's will learn from two invaluable sources.

The Supervisor you assign to your Trainee will provide skills and knowledge on how to thrive in your workplace and industry.

ACCM College's team of industry experienced experts will also provide coaching and mentoring in their qualification and the larger industry.

With so many different types of support available, Trainees should be able to reach their goals.

 Australian School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships are an important part of the National Australian Apprenticeship system. They develop the skills of young people and provide employers with keen and motivated young staff ready to learn about their chosen industry.

The program combines paid part-time work, formal studies in that vocational field and allows the student to stay in school and finish their secondary education as well as a vocational qualification.

They allow students to achieve a nationally recognised qualification through combining formal training with practical paid employment. The students remain registered at school and have the workplace learning counted towards their senior school studies.

So for young people there is no better opportunity – a chance to develop their skills and knowledge in a real work environment, while still completing their senior school studies.

For employers, School Based Traineeships offer an immediate flexible staffing option, as well as the opportunity to develop a pool of potential staff for the future. The paid work conducted by a School Based Trainee is scheduled to meet the needs of the employer and the minimum work requirements of School Based Trainees in that state. 

Each state and territory sets the formal rules about how many hours and how regularly a School Based Trainee must work.

The rules are designed around ensuring:

• A minimum number of hours are worked over each year
• Regularity of work
• The ability to manage work and school and study commitments

 The rules allow flexible options such as the school student working Thursday nights, or Saturdays during main school periods and more hours during school holidays. Some options allow work during a standard working week, subject to school commitments being able to be met.

Under School Based Traineeships the student must complete a vocational certificate. This involves study (just like at school) but in that vocational field.

Under School Based Traineeships the student, their school, their employer and the College agree on when the student will work and when they will complete their College vocational studies. These times work around school attendance requirements.

Any school student can be a School Based Trainee. There are no academic entry requirements, other than suitability for that vocation.

They simply need a career goal, an employer who will give them a chance, and obtain agreement from the school that they can undertake the School Based Traineeship in conjunction with normal school requirements.

The formal eligibility criteria to enter a School Based Traineeship are that the student must:

• Be at least 15 years of age
• Be enrolled at a school and continue school studies
• Undertake part-time work with an employer
• Undertake structured industry approved training in conjunction with their employer and training organisation

 To be eligible for a School Based Traineeship a student must be an Australian citizen, Australian Visa holder, permanent resident or New Zealand passport holder resident for more than 6 months.

Each vocational course has different workplace needs. We simply confirm that you have in place what is needed and agree on solutions for any issues identified. 

Each trainee has unique needs. We start by getting them to provide us with information so that we can discuss how we can best support them. This also ensures that they are aware of their obligations.

This involves determining the best subjects to suit your work environment. The assessments for each subject are timetabled to be achieved so that the formal component of the traineeship is completed as quickly as possible – allowing the remaining time to be dedicated on further developing workplace skills.

Trainees have immediate access to high quality learning resources that they can access 24/7. This puts them in full control to best use the times at work that are most suitable for their studies. The materials are designed to allow them to do small parts at a time – so they give the best flexibility for a work environment.

We ask trainees to make regular contact with us – but we are also proactive in contacting them.

Trainees can simply give us a phone call when they need help with the learning materials or they can book times in advance.

Many assessments are structured to require trainees to interact with the College by phone so that we know they are making progress on specific subjects.

We recognise that many employers may not be readily available on the phone, so we have created the Employer Dashboard to ensure you have up to date information about your Trainee's progress.

This also ensures that you are fully aware of any progress issues that may impact completion (and completion incentive payment) and have the opportunity to address those issues.

From time to time there are issues with a trainee's progress. You will be advised both informally and formally to ensure that you are aware of the situation, and that all parties are doing what they can to resolve the problem.

In some instances we are required to advise the relevant state Department of Education if there are trainee progress issues. This will only happen after we have tried to resolve the problem directly with you. 

Your trainee will be required to get employer agreement that they meet the workplace requirements of each subject. Please ensure that within your workplace, anyone who may be asked by the trainee to do this has your approval.

Once all required subjects have been completed your trainee is eligible for the award of their qualification and Competency Completion.

Workplace agreement of Competency Completion and the return of a signed copy of the Training Plan is required. We will email these to you.

Please be aware that Competency Completion may affect the rates of pay for any trainees on the National Training Wage. It will also trigger eligibility to any employer completion incentives and at the same time cease any eligibility to payroll tax exemptions or rebates.

The College will report to the relevant Department of Education that the trainee has completed the formal requirements.

In some states this automatically triggers Competency Completion. In others you will receive a letter (that you must reply to) if you wish to delay Competency Completion.