How Traineeships can help your Business

The Federal government funding to boost apprenticeship and traineeships numbers end at the end of March.?This initiative has been a godsend to get employers and learners focused back on on-the-job- learning.?There was an expectation with COVID that the economy would suffer, and the Boost funding package encouraged employers to start new staff.?As skills shortages developed the support enabled training provision, if the new staff didn’t have the required skills.?In uncertain times employers had some protection for their business.

?It was also a welcome increase for a delivery strategy that has been in decline for many years due to the high cost to all involved.?We have employers who want to take on a trainee but not be able to justify the fee of several thousand dollars.

?Traineeships are one of the most cost-effective and successful ways to increase workplace skills and develop your workforce.?If delivered by experienced practitioners, it can result in vocational and personal skill development for the trainee AND other members of the workforce.?

?However, on saying that traineeship delivery is probably the most complex form of delivery requiring very skilled practitioners to do it well.?When delivering in a classroom or virtually the trainer has time to plan the learning and gather suitable resources to support the delivery of skills and knowledge.??In a recent conversation with our training team types of training were ranked in terms of complexity. Low to high.

1.????Traineeships

2.????Virtual delivery

3.????Classroom delivery for an employer which requires customisation

4.????Classroom delivery for mixed groups

5.????International students

?When delivering traineeships, the delivery is extensively customised both for the workplace and the learner.?That customisation often occurs while the delivery is taking place.?The trainer needs to be an expert in the learning content and be knowledgeable on the possible customisations to be relevant for the workplace.?

?It is difficult to have a prepared script for one-on-one delivery because the learning is going to follow the learner’s needs.?There may be extra content covered (that the trainer thought the learner already knew) or it may be that a lesson is prepared only to find that the learner has had on the job experience and training in the workplace in the previous week.?In this instance, the trainer can progress further with different content.

?A partnership develops between the business and the RTO to attain maximum development for the learner.?This can include personal skills, motivation and career pathways information.?Because of the personal relationship that develops between the learner and the trainer a mentoring relationship develops that facilitates a range of improved skills.?A relationship also develops with the supervisor which can facilitate extra support on topics such as coaching, possible improved organisational processes, changes in legislation etc.

?However, taking on a new employee is not for the faint-hearted, especially when the business is at a stretching point.?It takes time and patience for inductions and embedding them into the team.?BUT this is the only way to grow our businesses.

?At Skills Strategies International we have been delivering Traineeships for over 25 years and we developed the first school-based traineeship in retail.

Interested in getting some of your staff onto an SSI traineeship? Email [email protected] to get started