By
Sarah Cumberland
There
are two sides to every story, and we take a look at how training
works in 'real life' and in a variety of industries, from the
perspective of employee and employer.
Research
shows that the climate for training in the workplace is changing,
in style and in numbers.
In 1990,
93% of apprenticeships were in skilled trades. By 2001, this proportion
had decreased to around 50% even though the total number of apprenticeships
and traineeships had grown. It's no longer only electricians,
carpenters and hairdressers who can train on the job. Now people
of varying ages are taking on traineeships in a broad range of
occupations, such as administration, managerial, clerical, sales,
and IT.
New
Trends
The 1984 Kirby Inquiry into Labour Market Programs examined Australia's
apprenticeship system with its narrow range of occupations in
the skilled trades. Traineeships were introduced to broaden this
system so that hundreds of other occupations could benefit from
'apprenticeship-style' training.
According
to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER),
approximately 30% of traineeships are in clerical, sales and service
occupations; 11% in labourer and related occupations, with the
remainder covering intermediate production and transport occupations,
associate professional workers and managerial or professional
occupations. Women make up 34.3% of the total 333, 000 apprentices
and trainees undergoing training in Australia.
Chris Robinson,
managing director of NCVER, says the research clearly shows that
an apprenticeship or a traineeship makes a person job-ready with
a high probability of finding, or continuing, work in their chosen
field. On this basis, it makes sense to expand new apprenticeships
into more fields of work where the new apprenticeship approach
could add value to the quality of skill formation.
"Traineeships
are an excellent way for small businesses to find good staff,"
says Jennifer Britton, at Northern Group Training. "They can mould
the person to suit their business. The majority finish their traineeships
because they know it's the best way to get into the workforce,
or, if they are changing careers, a new field. Often trainees
are promoted within the same company (in which they trained) if
a position is available."
Why hire
a trainee instead of recruiting someone with the skills your business
needs? DSB spoke to five different businesses to find out how
traineeships can be a great way to find and keep excellent staff.
Stepping
Stones
Danielle Cooper, executive secretary at boat-building business,
Incat, in Hobart: "Sarah was supposed to be doing work experience
at Incat for a couple of weeks but she turned out to be so good
we wanted to hire her as an office junior. She was preparing to
start full-time study at TAFE and we didn't want to lose her.
So, she suggested working for us under a traineeship.
"It turned
out to be a really good arrangement for both parties. She could
train on the job, whenever there was a quiet moment, as well as
do some after-hours study. When we felt she needed skills in a
particular area, we could send her on a course such as telephone
technique or Powerpoint presentations. We were very sad to see
Sarah go but we encouraged her to take her current job as it is
a much more demanding position and a good career opportunity."
Sarah Karydis,
former trainee at Incat, is currently working as an office manager
with Liferaft Systems Australia. She won state and national Trainee
of the Year in the 2001 Australian Training Awards. "Incat was
a great stepping stone for my career. The people there were really
supportive and taught me to develop a career plan. I started at
Incat doing work experience in Year 10. They offered me a traineeship
in Business/Office Administration.
"I had enrolled
at TAFE before I started my traineeship but instead was able to
complete my certificates on the job. My training was tailored
so it was relevant to my work at Incat. Every couple of months,
I attended courses through NGT (Northern Group Training) to develop
my skills in particular areas. These included payroll and accounts,
reception and general office duties such as filing.
"I'm taking
a Frontline Management course to tie in with my new job as office
manager. My plan is to go to uni, most likely as a mature age
student, to study a Bachelor of Commerce combined with a Law degree.
In the meantime, I'll do some HR certificates and hopefully have
some of those courses recognised as 'prior learning' by the uni."
Making
Choices
Gemma Kelly, business owner of recruitment company, Staff It,
in Sydney: "People get confused when they hear about trainees.
They think they're all young school-leavers or long-term unemployed
people. Businesses can choose the kind of trainees they recruit.
Some of my trainees had been working here for a couple of months
before we started the traineeship. It's about skilling the existing
workforce.
"My business
is being progressively systemised with procedures and policies.
I would rather hire a trainee, and train them to our systems,
than recruit an experienced person who might have developed bad
habits. We aim to increase the trainee's general skill level while
we build on developing hands-on skills.
"A lot of
employees want a learning and development path. Under a traineeship,
they have their own mentor in the trainer, who visits and monitors
their progress regularly. All of our trainees invariably take
on further training, maybe continuing to tertiary level. Rather
than just doing training courses for the sake of training, we
do it to grow the business. Then, it's useful for both employer
and trainee."
Jake Wyatt,
trainee at Staff It: "I'm currently doing a Certificate III in
Business Administration, which covers a range of tasks including
office administration, payroll, reception and personal assistant.
I had completed a Hospitality Management course and I also worked
as a junior in an IT recruitment firm, so I had some skills to
start with.
However,
working as a trainee has provided me with more guidance and a
structure so that I can work towards my goal of becoming an executive
assistant. It has helped me focus on areas where I need training.
"Options Training Services assigned me a trainer to assess my
progress on a regular basis. I've been really lucky with both
the trainers I've had as I've clicked really well with them."
Rural
Solutions
Kate and Ken Coble, owners of Western Internet Services, in Forbes
NSW: "Being an ISP business based in a rural area makes it hard
to find local employees who already have the technical skills
we need. It makes sense to take on a trainee. The advantage of
employing a trainee, rather than a regular employee, is that you
have specific goals that you both work towards. "Traineeships
are a good way for businesses to employ someone without too much
risk. If it doesn't work out, you are under no obligation to hire
them when the traineeship has finished. Of course, you hope things
do work out because you put a lot of effort into training them.
"Mark didn't
have a lot of experience or communication skills when he started
but he has come a long way. We had the opportunity to tailor his
training according to our business needs. Now he's an integral
part of the business and we'd hate to lose him. We wouldn't find
someone with the same skill set that he has developed with us.
He's got a lot of confidence and he's so responsible and loyal.
We could go on holidays and leave him to run the business now.
"The training
is fairly specific. We have a Linux/UNIX-based system so Mark
would be fairly employable if he wanted to look for work in the
city. Thankfully he's happy living and working here in Forbes.
We plan to take on another trainee in the next few months so that
we have someone else moving up through the ranks, just in case."
Mark Neilsen,
technical support officer and former trainee at Western Internet
Services: "When I was at school, I always thought I'd do an apprenticeship
in a trade. I started playing around with computers and decided
I really enjoyed it. When I heard Ken had a job going, I thought
it would be a good opportunity to get into the industry.
"I did a
Business Traineeship, so I learnt basic business skills. It's
a good stepping stone to have the piece of paper. I haven't got
any other formal qualifications yet because I've been too busy
to get myself organised, but I plan to do some IT certificates
through TAFE.
"I didn't
want to go away to uni and run up a huge debt like some of my
friends have. I feel I've learned so much working here. Every
job needs good customer relations skills these days. Three years
of dealing with customers over the phone has taught me lots."
Specific
Training
Tony Klein, manager at Internet-based travel agency, Ticket Xpress,
Melbourne: "We used to advertise for employees but now we hire
all new staff, except management positions, as trainees. Because
the training is formalised, we find the trainees are really enthusiastic.
Before any commitments are made, all trainees do three weeks pre-employment
training to give them a taste of what it's like to work in the
travel industry. Some people have this romantic idea of the industry.
They soon realise it's the customers, not them, who will be doing
all the travelling!
"After a
three-month probationary period, we can tell who is really serious
about succeeding. The trainees start with IT and internet training,
and then we introduce them to travel industry skills."
Sarah Curtis,
trainee at Ticket Xpress: "My goal has always been to work in
the travel industry but every job that was advertised needed at
least two years' experience - even if I had finished a travel
course. I've been a trainee at Ticket Xpress for just four months
but I have learned so many new skills, including booking international
and domestic airfares and issuing invoices. The IT training is
good too, as I might be able to use it down the track.
I think it's
easier being a trainee, rather than a regular employee, because
you get more help. I can ask as many questions as I like because
my employers expect me to be learning on the job."
Job Incentive
Angela Shaw, quality assurance manager at recruitment company,
Quay Appointments, Sydney: "The reason why most people leave a
job is because they're not learning anything. They become bored.
When staff become involved in a training program, they rarely
leave because they have an incentive to stay. If you hire someone
to just learn on the job, you never really know whether they are
learning the procedures properly. People need to know why certain
things are done a specific way. Traineeships are a great opportunity
to train staff properly to suit the particular business. They
can do on-the-job training while following a module-based program
under the guidance of a trainer. Trainees receive a nationally
recognised certificate when they complete their training."
Sharlene
Yule, trainee consultant at Quay Appointments: "I've always wanted
to work in the recruitment industry. When I approached Quay Appointments
for a job, they recommended I do a traineeship. Some of the modules
I've been studying include interviewing skills, customer service
and computer software. I love it!
"I'm constantly
learning about lots of different areas of the business. I feel
like I'm part of the team and I don't get treated any differently.
Being a trainee has all benefits as far as I'm concerned. I'm
aiming to learn more on the job once I've finished my training
then do some industry qualifications later on."
