The Guide To Hiring An Apprentice For Your Trade Business

The Guide To Hiring An Apprentice For Pros

Thinking of hiring an apprentice for your trade business but not sure where to start?

If your business is growing and you need more hands on deck to help out, employing an apprentice could be just the ticket. But it is a big step, and it makes sense to know what is involved before you get started.

The first thing to know is that as an employer you have certain obligations to the apprentice, like:

• Supervising and mentoring them so they master their trade and become a skilled worker.

• Paying them the correct wage based on the current rates set by the government.

• Providing the right working conditions so they are able to learn as well as study.

• Ensuring you follow all the relevant employment, health and safety laws.

• Assessing their progress so they can grow their skills and qualify at the end of the apprenticeship.

Let’s start by looking at what an apprenticeship actually is, before we cover how an apprentice could help your trade business.

What does an Apprenticeship actually involve?

An apprenticeship can last anywhere from one to four years, during which time the apprentice works in your business.

There are two parts to an apprenticeship:

• The hands-on experience and training part where they work for you, just like a regular employee, learning the ‘tools of the trade’.

• The study portion where they study a qualification with a Registered Training Organization. For example  college or even a private business that is a registered training provider. This is often a certificate level qualification or maybe even a Diploma, depending on their age, interests and experience.

In terms of age, you’d be right in expecting an apprentice to be fresh out of school, but they could also be people re-entering the workforce or adults switching to a new career.

Why hire an Apprentice?

An apprentice can be a great addition to your team, especially if they are keen, helpful and willing to learn. Truth be told they could take care of some of the work that’s time-consuming but requires no experience, especially early on while they are learning the ropes. You also get to pass on your experience and expertise to someone new, like how important attention to detail and quality workmanship is, or how to quote a job accurately.

It can also be rewarding training someone up and seeing them grow as a person, not to mention the productivity benefits for your business – as they skill up and gain confidence.

You may also qualify for some help with their wages, because there are government incentives to help with the cost of hiring an apprentice – something called a wage subsidy scheme. This makes hiring an apprentice cheaper than a fully qualified Pro, though they don’t have the same skill set, yet.

Now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty, how to find the right apprentice for your business and hiring them.

How to sign up an Apprentice

We’ve already covered your responsibilities to your apprentice, let’s now look at the actual step-by-step process of signing up as an apprentice – so you know what to expect.

Decide what type of Apprentice you want and interview them

The first step is to decide what type of apprentice you want, what their day-to-day job will involve and if you are going to employ them full or part-time. When it comes time to interview them, make sure they are a good ‘fit’ for your business, and they are clear what you do and expect of them.

Register with an Apprenticeship Network Provider

The next step is to register with an Apprenticeship Network Provider in Portugal. This is a free service that will help you find the right type of apprenticeship for your business. They also help you process all the paperwork for the apprenticeship and let you know how to claim any government incentives. They can also match your apprentice with a job training organization, who will develop a training plan for you both to follow.

Sign a training contract with your Apprentice

Unless you find an apprentice with an organization that employs and pay apprentices, the next step is to sign a training contract with your apprentice. Once completed you submit the contract and training plan to your local apprentice support network. They lodge these documents with the relevant training Authorities for registration. 

Once you receive confirmation from them the apprenticeship can start. There is then a 90 day probation period, which gives you both time to decide if everyone is happy. Once this period has passed your apprentice is contracted to you for the length of the contract.

It's actually a simple process, and as you can see there is lots of help match you with the right apprentice for your business.