When hiring an apprentice or trainee, you'll quickly realise that it's a lot more complex than it sounds. Employing a construction and engineering apprentice or trainee entails a slew of legal and regulatory documentation, all of which must be completed before they can begin working.

As a result, Group Training Organisations, or GTOs, have become a popular alternative among hundreds of businesses. Here's what you need to know if you haven't heard of a GTO, to make your apprentice recruiting process go more smoothly.

What are GTOs?

A GTO is a business (like KEEN) that focuses on providing training and presenting job openings to its members - at KEEN we have a 5 stage continuous learning process because we want to grow Tasmania’s skilled capacity. Apprentices and trainees are employed by GTOs responsible for ensuring that they obtain appropriate and relevant training and experience. The GTO will then identify a proper 'host' employer for each apprentice or trainee to work with on a daily basis.

Aside from that, they also handle mentorship, off-site training, payroll, government paperwork, superannuation, workers' compensation, equipment provision, and all administration and trade-specific Occupational Health and Safety (OHS).

GTOs are essentially a "one-stop-shop" for all apprenticeship requirements, except for the on-site work experience - that’s where the host employer comes in. They can focus on teaching the apprentice the skills without having to worry about all the paperwork and administration.

What Makes a Good GTO?

GTOs should have stringent hiring procedures to verify that candidates are a good match for the organisation. Some GTOs fail to adequately prepare prospective construction and engineering apprentices or trainees for the realities of skilled labour because they haven’t focused on building a strong relationship. As a result, many apprentices frequently drop out of the program or struggle to keep up with the workload.

It's critical to feel confident in your GTO's ability to support your apprentice or trainee. KEEN do regular site visits, stay in touch with the apprentice and will even assist to shift the apprentice to a new host employer if the work is no longer available.

KEEN want to see the rate of success much higher and to see our apprentices and trainees move on to meaningful, rewarding employment as competent, confident people.

How Can Companies Make Use of GTOs?

Not all companies have the same needs when they are looking for skilled workers. Because of this, you must engage with a GTO that can specifically customise their offering to your distinctive needs and requirements.

Before you commit with a GTO, find out if they can provide you with the following: flexible and scalable solutions for your apprentice staffing; better service and management of your apprenticeship programs; reduced administration, compliance, and reporting burdens on your operations; and whether they can maximise government incentives.

If you find the perfect GTO for you (of course, KEEN Partners would love you to chat with us), you can get a lot of benefits, including:

• Only paying for the hours the apprentice is with you 

• Apprentice incentive payments

• Off the job training and lost time costs

• An apprentice retention rate of 68 per cent (that’s better than direct apprenticeships - but we’re aiming for 95%)

Conclusion

There is increased expenditure on infrastructure, mining, and defence spending by the government. Because of this, many believe that construction and engineering trades will face considerable skill shortages in the future years. As a result, there is a significant increase in demand for new apprentices.

Hiring an apprentice or trainee through a GTO should not be complicated or expensive, regardless of whether you are a large or small firm. In the first place, the main reason why you want to hire an apprentice or trainee through a recruitment agency is that you want to save time and resources. The only key is to find the perfect GTO that can meet your needs.

Perhaps you are looking for a GTO or apprenticeship in Tasmania. KEEN Partners can help with apprenticeships, skilled labour-hire, and more. We are an industry-led organisation focused on up-skilling the technical capability of its people by collaborating with industry and, in turn, supporting short and medium-term industry resource needs. Contact us today!