How many apprentices should you hire? Apprentice intake planning comes down to three numbers: how many tradespeople you have and expect to lose, how many apprentices your qualified supervisors can look after properly, and which places you fill directly and which through a group training organisation (GTO). Work them out trade by trade, then stagger the starts across three years. This guide is about Victoria.
Its points on group training and supervision come from the Victorian Government's apprenticeships site. Incentive amounts and supervision limits change, so check them with apprenticeships.gov.au, your Apprentice Connect provider and the Victorian supervision guidelines before you set a number.
How many apprentices should you hire? Start from headcount and exits
List each trade you depend on and count the qualified people in each today. Estimate how many you expect to lose through retirement, resignation or a move into supervision, and how many extra positions you plan to add, by the time an apprentice starting now would qualify. That is the length of the apprenticeship for the trade, so ask your Apprentice Connect provider how long it runs. Subtract any apprentices already in training who will qualify by then. What is left is the number of starts to plan for that trade.
Here is an invented example. A workshop has 12 qualified boilermakers, expects 3 to leave by the time a new apprentice would qualify and plans 1 new position, so 4 positions need filling. One second-year apprentice will qualify before then, which leaves 3 starts to plan.
An apprentice is not a qualified tradesperson on day one, so each start fills a place that opens when the apprentice qualifies, not before. A gap that opens sooner needs a different answer, covered in the last section.
The article on staff turnover planning for production and warehouse teams helps with the exit forecast. If some exits are critical trades, the guide to succession planning for tradespeople and key operators covers planning successors for them.
Work out how many apprentices you can supervise well
The Victorian Government's guidance on hiring apprentices and trainees says apprentices need to be supervised by a good role model who has the right qualifications and skills. That makes apprentice supervision capacity the second limit on your intake. Work through it trade by trade:
- Name the supervisors. List the people who hold the right qualifications and skills and would work beside an apprentice.
- Match the shifts. An apprentice rostered on nights needs a qualified supervisor on nights.
- Check the time. A supervisor has their own work too, so ask how much of the day they can give to teaching.
- Check the limits. The hire page points to Victorian supervision guidelines, and the rules for your trade may set limits of their own. Read both before you fix a number.
Each year's intake is the lower of two numbers: the starts you planned for that year, and the new apprentices your named supervisors can take on that year alongside any apprentices already in training. If supervision is the lower number, add qualified supervisors before you add apprentices.
Direct employment or group training: choose per intake
The Victorian hire page notes that some employers host an apprentice through a GTO rather than hire directly. You can use both routes, so decide for each intake.
Hosting through a group training organisation
A GTO is the legal employer of the apprentice and manages the training contract and government paperwork, and your business becomes the group training organisation host employer. The Victorian page on how group training organisations work in Victoria adds that you are not tied to a contract and can host for the length of time that suits you. The GTO organises and oversees the training, takes on insurance and workers compensation responsibilities and provides safety equipment as needed.
You still provide day-to-day supervision, on-the-job experience and a safe workplace. A host usually takes an apprentice for just one part of the apprenticeship.
Hosting tends to suit a first apprentice in a trade, or work you cannot promise for a full term. Chandler Personnel's education and training service includes Chandler GTO apprenticeships and traineeships; read that page alongside this one when you weigh the hosting route. Check any group training organisation you are considering on the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) register of recognised Victorian GTOs.
Employing the apprentice directly
With direct employment your business is the employer for the whole training contract. The Victorian hire page lists what comes with that:
- Approval and contract. Apply to become an approved employer with the VRQA, and sign the training contract within 14 days of the apprentice starting.
- Training. Enrol the apprentice in formal training at a TAFE or registered training organisation within three months of starting work. Employers are usually required to reimburse tuition fees.
- Pay and workplace. Wages follow the relevant award or enterprise agreement. You provide an induction, on-the-job training, a safe workplace and supervision.
The page suggests starting with an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider, who can tell you about financial incentives you may be eligible for. Direct employment tends to suit steady work, supervisors already in place, and an apprentice you want for the whole term. For how a manufacturer sets up the training model, the post on manufacturing apprenticeship models goes through the steps.
Build a three-year intake calendar
Apprentice pipeline planning means spreading the starts, so no supervisor is asked to bring on several new apprentices at once and qualified people arrive year by year. Using the invented example above, three starts could look like this:
- Year 1. One start, hosted through a GTO, to test how your supervisors cope with an apprentice on the floor.
- Year 2. One start, employed directly if the first placement went well and the work is steady.
- Year 3. One start, direct or hosted, depending on the work and on who is still available to supervise.
These starts are spread over three years so that supervisors are not overloaded; each apprentice then qualifies after the apprenticeship length for the trade. Each supervisor in that plan works with one new apprentice at a time. That is a choice made for the example, and the rules for your trade may allow more or fewer.
Plan the finish line: what happens at completion
Decide at the start what happens when the apprentice qualifies. Will there be a tradesperson position, with its pay budgeted? If the apprentice came through a GTO, ask the GTO early what happens when the placement ends.
Your apprentices may find the post on apprenticeships in blue collar careers useful, as it is written mainly for people starting out.
Apprentices cannot close a gap that opens before they qualify. For that gap, hire a qualified tradesperson while the pipeline builds. Chandler Recruitment handles permanent recruitment, and the trades and services recruitment page covers the trade side. If boilermakers are your scarce trade, the guide to hiring boilermakers has a section on where boilermakers come from.
Related Resources
- Group training organisations in Victoria
- Hiring apprentices and trainees
- GTO apprenticeships and traineeships
- Trades and services recruitment
- Permanent recruitment
- Manufacturing apprenticeship models
- Apprenticeships in blue collar careers
Frequently Asked Questions
How many apprentices can a business take on?
The limit comes from your supervision capacity and the rules for your trade. In Victoria, an apprentice must be supervised by a good role model with the right qualifications and skills, so count those supervisors first, then read the Victorian supervision guidelines before you set a number.
What is the difference between a GTO and employing an apprentice directly?
A GTO is the legal employer and manages the training contract and government paperwork, while your business hosts the apprentice. You still provide supervision, on-the-job training and a safe workplace. With direct employment your business is the employer and signs the training contract itself.
Who supervises an apprentice on site?
The Victorian Government says an apprentice needs a good role model who has the right qualifications and skills. In practice, that means a named person on the same shift who has time to teach, whether you employ the apprentice directly or host them through a GTO.
Can a small business host an apprentice through a group training organisation?
The Victorian page presents a GTO arrangement as an option for employers who cannot commit to a whole apprenticeship but still want to reach the apprentice talent pool. Whether a particular GTO has a placement that suits your trade and workplace is a question for that GTO, so ask it, and check it on the VRQA register first.
What should we plan for when an apprentice finishes?
Plan the next role before the apprentice qualifies: whether a tradesperson position is open and budgeted, and whether the new tradesperson could supervise the next apprentice. If a GTO hosted the apprentice, ask it early what happens when the placement ends.
Stage your apprentice starts over three years
Each year's intake is the lower of two numbers: the starts your headcount and exits call for, and the new apprentices your qualified supervisors can take on. Choose direct employment or a GTO for each intake, and spread the starts so each supervisor takes on one new apprentice at a time. This week, list your trades, count your named supervisors and write down the exits you expect. When you are ready to hire a qualified tradesperson while your apprentices build up, you can request staff from Chandler Personnel.
