Insight by our CEO, Ray Mostogl

As human beings we like to believe we will be successful before we start something new. The recent incentives to start more apprentices is a great opportunity, but with industry typically only seeing a little over 50% of apprentices and trainees completing their training contracts, there are clearly a lot of employers and employees who will be wary about the scheme.

When an employer is considering starting an apprenticeship or a traineeship, there’s many potential risks involved, and for some employers, the benefit of having an apprentice or trainee is outweighed by these risks. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Employing an apprentice or trainee through a Group Training Organisation (GTO) eliminates or reduces a number of the risks.

Employing someone new to the industry – be it fresh out of school or a person seeking a career change, means standard recruitment methods may not reveal how suitable the apprentice or trainee is to the industry. It’s a very costly exercise to hire someone and then put time and effort into their development only to have them realise this career is not for them. GTO’s interview hundreds of people and build up capability to detect strong candidates – they’re not perfect, but well-practiced raises the odds.

Employers themselves mostly start out as employees, and their mastery of the technical and business skills helps them shift into an employer role in their own right.

Understanding the ins and outs of employment law, as well as the soft skills involved in building confidence in a young person, is a totally new skill – it’s not the same as raising your own children.

The mentoring support provided by GTO’s becomes the glue which brings employees, employers and training organisations together to ensure the persons technical competencies are achieved. This support importantly extends to the relationships which influence how the employee functions. Mentoring support is usually also provided to the employer. GTO’s have hundreds of these scenarios under their belt and build up a solid network of support channels and tips to assist all members of the equation.

Apprentices employed through a GTO are more likely to complete their training than those directly engaged by an employer. I encourage employers to contact a GTO and let them know you are interested in helping to make a great future skilled worker.