Advice for parents and guardians

As a parent or guardian, you'll want your child to have the best possible future. If they’re considering a traineeship or apprenticeship, you’ll want them to have a good employer to learn from and the best possible shot at completing their training and earning a qualification.

Tips for parents and guardians

What strategies can you, as the parent or guardian of an apprentice, use to help your child make the transition into an apprenticeship and working life? 

• Get involved – Take a personal interest in the tasks, duties and responsibilities they will be taking on
• Construction trades are usually physically demanding so it’s important that you encourage them to eat well and get plenty of rest, especially in the early stages of their apprenticeship
• Provide encouragement – Positive encouragement will give them a boost, particularly if you acknowledge the successful completion of a milestone, such as finishing each year of an apprenticeship or a training module
• Reinforce the importance of integrity and honesty – Both of these are fundamental to gain the trust, respect and honesty of others in the workplace
• Engage with the training providers – Involve yourself with the TAFE component of the apprenticeship
• Promote the benefits of holding a trade qualification – Foster awareness that there will be excellent career opportunities available by having a trade.

Talk with your child about their career goals and the apprenticeship that will best support their goals:

• Discuss and develop strategies together to balance work, training, transportation, etc.
• Discuss the responsibilities involved in being a paid member of the workforce
• Show an interest and talk to your child about their day at work
• Encourage them to talk about any issues they may be facing.

GTOs: What are the benefits?

It’s useful to remember that Group Training Organisations (GTO) like HIA Apprentices offer significant advantages to apprentices and trainees that other employers can’t provide.

HIA Apprentices meets national standards for GTOs, which means they provide the following benefits to an apprentice or trainee starting their career in a trade:

• Payment on time and correctly for the work they do 
• Superannuation, tax and long service leave
• Annual leave, sick leave and RDOs
• Reimbursement of Trade School fees
• The security of knowing they’re employed by a national employer
• We carefully match apprentices to a host trainer who is looking for an apprentice/trainee and meets stringent safety and training standards
• Flexibility in working conditions and job rotation so apprentices can become multi-skilled
• Provision of all required personal protective equipment including work boots
• Support with mentoring and safety training
• Regular on-site visits from HIA Apprentices staff
• Provision of the support they need to be successful.

Understand these benefits and take the time to speak to your child about the skills they are learning. Encourage them to ask questions and take full advantage of their support network as they undertake their apprenticeship.

HIA Apprentices has the goal of seeing your child successfully complete their apprenticeship and become the best tradesperson they can be. Our objective is to have them to stay in the industry and develop a rewarding career.

The above is intended to provide general information in summary form. The content does not constitute specific advice and should not be relied upon as such. Formal advice should be sought by members and customers with respect to particular matters before taking action.