The Builder and Manufacturer Program is a partnership between HIA, builders and manufacturers to encourage the uptake of apprentices in our industry.

What is the Builder and Manufacturer Program?

The Builder and Manufacturer Program plays an important role in bringing apprentices into the construction industry – and setting them up for a satisfying career in the sector.

The program is for any builder or manufacturer who subcontracts work or has customers who work in the trades. Builders involved in the program range from small companies building a few homes a year to large-volume builder working on hundreds of homes annually.

The program provides safety-trained, dedicated apprentices, with all the HR recruitment and paperwork handled by HIA. You can be sure that any apprentice sponsored by HIA has met the Association’s strict criteria and matching process to ensure you get a reciprocal fit.

We believe that training apprentices starts with us and building a trade base of young people will help secure our organisation against future trade shortages.

David Jones, Construction Manager, JWH Residential Attitudes shortages.

How the program can benefit builders

The Builder and Manufacturer Program has been proven to build trade and customer loyalty and primes apprentices for a career in the industry. It offers participating businesses:

• Loyalty – builds dependability and loyalty to your business
• Reliability – provides you with committed apprentices
• Efficiency – speeds up the recruitment process as HIA will match suitable apprentices quickly
• Confidence – removes the risk of taking on unsuitable candidates
• Safety – ensures you have a well-informed and safety-trained workforce
• Time-saving – no extra admin requirements from your business

How the program works

HIA administers an umbrella apprenticeship program on your behalf, which means the following:

• Your preferred contractors improve productivity with the help of an apprentice
• You sponsor the training with the subsidised amount decided by you
• You gain loyalty from apprentices trained to your high quality standards

HIA administers the program by:

• recruiting and inducting the trainee
• providing hand and power tool training, plus personal protective equipment
• mentoring the apprentice throughout the term of their apprenticeship
• managing the administration of the apprentice, builder and subcontractor
• invoicing the subcontractor on behalf of the builder, meaning no additional paperwork for your team.