COSBOA & Skillset Apprenticeships

Unit 1 - On the job training for your apprentice - FAQ

I have had apprentices in the past and they just don’t learn the skills fast enough to keep up.
People learn in a number of different ways, so by understanding the type of learner your apprentice is will assist you to tailor your instruction to best suit them and enhance the chances of them learning and retaining skills faster.  

Through a simple test you can identify what the primary learning style of both you and your apprentice.  It is important to have an awareness of your own style and begin to recognise how this influences your instruction methods.  For example, if you identify that you are a preferred Auditory learner, you may then recognise that you have a tendency to verbalise instructions.  This may work well if your apprentice also has a preferred Auditory learning style, however if they have a preferred auditory digital style, they may well require a checklist of steps to follow to complete a task.  By applying methods of instruction that suit the learning style of your apprentice, rather than telling him or her something 5 times, you may only need to show them once, or vice-versa.  

How can I ensure I get my apprentice off to a really good start?
By implementing a thorough workplace induction program you can ensure your apprentice will get off to the best start possible.  An induction program is vital to get the apprentice engaged and motivated, it is also essential in providing them with all the information they need to achieve from the very beginning.

A good induction should also give the apprentice a sense of belonging and being part of the team.  Induction is an excellent time to set up what works for your business and what doesn’t, having this information from the beginning will save you stress and expense later as you have already established rules and expectations. For an example of an induction program summary, click here.  

What types of supervision facilitates the best learning?
Structuring supervision to ensure that your apprentice is learning requires constant review of the skills being taught to the apprentice and how they are progressing with each new skill.  Apprentices need varying levels of supervision as they acquire skills and gain confidence. This supervision falls into two categories:  Direct and General.

Apprentices begin learning a particular skill under Direct Supervision.  When they achieve competence in the skill they move to General Supervision while they are undertaking work where that skill is required. Direct Supervision is one-on-one supervision.  It is essential for every new apprentice and must be maintained in the teaching of a particular skill until the apprentice has been officially deemed competent in that skill. 

Direct Supervision can be provided by the employer, the Workplace Supervisor, Workplace Coach or another qualified employee.

General Supervision is a stage that apprentices or trainees enter as they gain skills that allow them to function more independently of Direct Supervision.  They will be moving from Direct to General Supervision in respect of different skills as they train in and become competent in those skills.

It is important to remember that whoever undertakes the training, the employer remains responsible for the quality and safety of the training, and both the Direct and General Supervision being provided.   

What is my role in providing on-the-job training, and how do I make it effective?
On-the-job training is training that occurs in the work environment, where the learner is provided with instruction and coaching to build skills and competency.  To gain their qualification your apprentice needs to learn the skills and knowledge of their trade or profession, and be able to demonstrate these in different ways, and in a variety of situations and contexts. They will need to be able to practically apply what they are learning and provide evidence – that is, that they can DO the job competently, and progressively, with less and less supervision over time.

Your role in delivering effective on-the-job training is to help them develop skills and improve their performance on the job.

When providing your apprentice with on-the-job training there are six essential steps for a successful outcome.  They are as follows:

• Explain the task, its purpose and why it must be done.
• Explain all of the steps of the task clearly. Use more than one mode e.g. verbal and written
• Demonstrate the task and explain what you need to see to confirm competency.
• Provide your apprentice or trainee with plenty of practice opportunities.
• Give feedback and encouragement, and ask open questions about how they would/could do it differently?
• Advise them of their progress towards competence and assessment.

Click here for a summary of planning on the job training for your apprentice. 

Unit 2 – Managing performance for maximum return - FAQ

I want to take on an apprentice, but I don’t even know where to begin to manage others
To manage others effectively we must first build skills in managing ourselves and identifying our own reasons for travelling down a particular path.  First you need to think about what are your own goals and what are the benefits to both you and your business for each of these goals.  Then it is important to list what you believe your apprentices’ must focus on and strive for to achieve in your business, as well as what the benefits of achieving those goals are for them.  

Communication between you and your apprentice is essential to ensure that you discuss, negotiate and agree no these individualised goals for them to focus on.  Just like your own goals, the apprentice’s focus must be personally motivating so that they view them as worthwhile and dedicate their energy towards them.  The apprentice’s participation in setting and agreeing on the goals is critical for them to personally value the goal.  

Once you are able to set these goals with your apprentice that are mutually beneficial, you can then begin to discuss specific actions and timeframes to begin achieving them.  Whilst there is much more to effectively managing others, ensuring you are working towards common goals is one of the first steps.    

How can I try to ensure that I get a good return on my investment with an apprentice?
By committing to employing an apprentice you are investing money, time, energy, expertise and passion for your business and trade, amongst other things.  It makes sense to want to get a good return on that investment.  

One way to ensure you get a successful return on your investment is by building a supportive workplace environment where your apprentice can learn, progress and apply their skills in a practical environment.  An example of how you may be able to achieve this supportive workplace is by establishing a buddy program.  By linking your apprentice with other people in their workplace, possibly colleagues close to their own age, you can assist your apprentice in developing a sense of belonging that is imperative in their first few months. 

This ‘buddy’ can also help your apprentice to feel welcome, adjust to the workplace, increase communication in your workplace and prepare other staff for leadership roles within your business.  The buddy system also helps to provide another support for an apprentice within the workplace who is not the ‘boss’.  Buddy relationships should be informal, friendly and share experience and knowledge.  

By providing the most supportive and friendly environment possible, your apprentice has the best chance to successfully learn, apply skills and remain loyal to your business, to ensure you a positive return on your investment in them.      

My apprentice just doesn’t seem to listen to me!
Workplace relationships rely heavily on communication.  Effective communication is much more than simply conveying information and ideas.  Talking or sending some sort of message does not become communication until an understanding by the receiver takes place.  Effective communicators are conscious of not only the content of the message, but also the feeling attached to it.  

There are many forms of communication – verbal, non-verbal, written or through active listening.  Successful communicators apply their interpersonal skills through listening, speaking, questioning, assertiveness, verbal and non-verbal communication.   

To effectively communicate you need to know exactly what the message is that you want to send and ensure that the receiver is listening attentively to the information being conveyed.  To ensure that the receiver has received your intended message it is important to ask questions to clarify their understanding.  

It may also be appropriate to consider the method of communication for your particular audience.  Some apprentices may respond well to verbal instruction, others may respond better to other means of communication such as a physical demonstration of what to do, perhaps a checklist for them to work through during the day or even written instruction via email or text message.  

 If you do find yourself in a position where you find your current method of communication is not achieving the results you want, it might be time to think of trying something a little different.    

I like to provide feedback to my apprentice, but how do I keep it positive when they have done something wrong? Being positive in the workplace can really impact your own and other people’s self confidence and self esteem, and how other people perceive us.  

It is important at work to be positive about the challenge the work and business you are in provides, the opportunity the apprentice has to learn new skills and knowledge, and that we show that we enjoy what we are doing and the people we work with.  This provides a great foundation for our apprentice or trainee to build the same passion about the work we are doing, and deliver the same behaviours in the workplace that you are demonstrating.  

When providing feedback to your apprentice on their performance, it is important to consider how you communicate your message.  Be sure to speak in a calm, relaxed and confident tone without yelling, swearing and putting them down.  It can also assist to try to separate the person from the behaviour or action and communicate what you would like done differently next time.  For example, you might say “what has happened here is that the length of timber has been cut too short for what we need, next time it’s important to make sure that we double check the measurements before we cut. If you are not sure, please check with me first”.    

I hear a lot of talk about what is ‘fair’ for apprentices – what is it really about?
The concept of what is ‘fair’ is a major factor in whether apprentices complete their trade, research has shown that once young people are in an apprenticeship, there are four critical elements in their experience against which they assess the essential ‘fairness’ of the apprenticeship:

• Good working conditions;
• Fair pay and progression;
• A good boss; and
• Real skills training.

(A Fair Deal - Apprentices and their employers in NSW, Integrated research report, November 2011, NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training, pp. 29).

“If an apprentice wants to learn the trade, is fairly realistic in their expectations about pay, working conditions and training, knows what they are signing up for and knows what they are trading off, they are more likely to stick with the apprenticeship and complete it. 

If they understand what they are entitled to expect, what the deal is – and the experience matches the expectation – they are much more likely to complete.

But if the employer fails to live up to their side of the bargain – in terms of pay and working conditions, recognition of achievement, training on the job and supportive workplace practices and culture – then the apprentice is not getting a fair return for trading off some benefits.  They are likely to look for something better – an apprenticeship with a better employer (and about half do), a better job or a different pathway.  The work experience has not passed the fairness test”.  (A Fair Deal - Apprentices and their employers in NSW, Integrated research report, November 2011, NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training, pp. 32).

By ensuring that you have open communication from commencement with your apprentice on what you and they feel is ‘fair’ will assist in ensuring the best possible chance of retaining the apprentice through to completion and beyond.    

Young people just don’t seem to have the same work ethic as when I was an apprentice
Often we question a young person’s work ethic when they do not do things in the way we expect them to.  To help young people meet our expectations in the workplace we need to set the scene early in our workplace relationship and make clear, in more than one modality, what are required behaviour standards in our workplace.  If you think something is important to you, and have not yet advised your apprentice about this requirement, you are not being fair to them or your business.  

If it is important to you that an apprentice turns up 20 minutes before the start of the day to set up tools or that they only use their mobile phones during their break time, then it is essential to communicate this to them at the earliest possible point in their employment.  If the apprentice then fails to deliver against your expectations you have a reference point for raising performance issues with them.  

By negotiating these expectations and ground rules upon commencement of the apprenticeship, you and the apprentice can ensure you are on the same page and the apprentice can take some ownership over the ‘ground rules’ as they will have been part of the process of establishing what is acceptable and may have negotiated some of their own needs as ground rules too.    

What tools are there to help me better manage my apprentices performance?
Some vital tools that can assist you to better manage an apprentice’s performance are documents such as a detailed position description and clear, concise key performance indicators. Position descriptions are valuable to communicate expected activities and tasks to deliver required performance as well as encourage initiative and creativity.    Position descriptions also help managers and business owners to do a better job of searching for and interviewing employee candidates, as it allows you to build effective questions for the interview process linked to the job role.  

Click here to view a sample position description.   

Performance indicators or key performance indicator (KPI) is a measure of performance.  Such measures are commonly used to help an organisation define and evaluate how successful it is, typically in terms of making progress towards its long-term business goals.  

They are a useful tool for crystallising and communicating what you want your apprentice to achieve, and how they will be measured to enable you to provide them with constructive and positive feedback, or identify where corrective action is required.  

Examples of Key Performance Indicators are below.

Financial Results
I. 100% completion of tasks as directed by your work Supervisor within the required time frames communicated

Client Satisfaction
I. Positive performance and attitude feedback from your supervisor – nil complaints
II. Able to demonstrate productivity and effective time management in completing the required tasks with minimal interruptions to self and others – minimal complaints
III. Telephone your Supervisor prior to work commencement time for every absence (sick or personal leave) – 100% of the time

Business Processes
I. Compliance with The Business policies and procedures
II. Compliance with work method statements
III. Drive the Business image and brand by demonstrating acceptable professional behaviours in accordance with the Business Code of Conduct at all times.
IV. Wear the Business provided uniforms at all times whilst at work

Learning and Growth for me and others
I. Participate in daily/weekly communication meetings and follow directions given
II. Work with your supervisor to ensure your Apprenticeship Training Plan is followed and delivered in the required time frame
III. Participate with a positive attitude in your own performance review and when provided with feedback
IV. Staff satisfaction rate of 75% or higher    

I am worried about my apprentice getting hurt at work and it costing me a fortune.
Statistics show that young workers, aged between 15 and 25, are being hurt or killed on the job every day.  To protect young workers employers  and managers must know the range of hazards in their workplace, and must apply all the necessary control measures to ensure people are not injured or made ill because of their work.  Employers must give young workers all the information they need, supervision and thorough training to enable them to undertake their work in a safe manner, provided with safe equipment and tools, and safe work methods.  It is important to remember that workplace injuries may be physical and/or psychological.  

A requirement of your workplace is that you have established policies and procedures regarding safety, harassment and workplace bullying – which protects your business, your apprentice and all other workers in the business.  Policies are another effective workplace tool to ensure you communicate business expectations to everyone in the workplace.  Your policies don’t have to be long.  A short statement outlining what your business stands for and expects is enough to communicate to the team your stand on required issues, and which establishes requirements of behaviour from them.  

View a sample work place policy here. 

How do I best deal with conflict in my workplace?
Following some simple rules to discuss and resolve issues early is critical to achieving resolution to conflict.  To achieve successful resolution of conflicts in the workplace we have to dig past what is being said by individuals and uncover what the motivation, fear or value is that is the real underlying issue.  

Simple yet effective key strategies to ensure conflict is resolved promptly are:

1. Using active listening to understand interests (listening, asking questions, reflecting, reframing, summarising) AND
2. Understanding the problem before seeking to resolve it.  You need to fix the problem not the symptom (which is the complaint or behaviour that is causing the complaint).
3. Focus on the issue/complaint and acknowledge the feelings of the complainant.
4. Stay ‘Above the Line’ – do not lay blame but look at what has occurred, acknowledge the alleged event/s, and work on what needs to be achieved for a positive and agreed outcome.  

Click here for a summary of managing performance for maximum return   

Unit 3 – How to motivate your apprentice - FAQ

What kinds of things are impacting on my apprentice’s motivation and what can I do about them?
A motive is defined as ‘something that prompts a person to act in a certain way/an incentive/the goal or object of one’s actions’.  Therefore, in order to be motivated, we need to have a goal.  Also, our level of motivation may change depending on a number of factors, such as the ease or difficulty of the task, our interest in the task, other commitments we may have and other factors in our life.

However, the bottom line to consider is this: either we are motivated or we aren’t.  No one else can force anyone to become motivated; it has to come from within.

Becoming motivated requires identifying what motivates us.  This is a very personal thing and differs from person to person.  Others, however, can certainly encourage, stimulate or reinforce our motivation.

Click here to view a short video on motivating apprentices.   

How do I get the apprentice to want to work towards goals?
To assist your apprentice to build and maintain their motivation to do the work and achieve their goals, you may need to assist them to articulate and set their goals.  Once goals are articulated they start taking shape and become more than simply a dream or a great idea – they become more realisitic.

It is a good idea to talk to your apprentice about long, medium and short term goals to focus them and progressively provide them with a sense of achievement – as they work towards their planned goals.

An example of a long term goal is:
‘By the end of 2015 I will have completed my apprenticeship and be a qualified plumber.’  

An example of a medium term goal is:
‘By the end of May 2013 I will have completed and be competent in 3 compulsory training units’  

An example of a short term goal is:
‘By the end of work today, I will be able to demonstrate to my boss that I can prepare the tools required for the job on today’s worksite’  

For goal setting to drive performance it is essential that goals are clear and concise.  Applying the SMART formula is one way to ensure goals are focused and the apprentice stays on track.  For goals to be ‘SMART’, they need to be Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timeframed.

An example of a SMART goal is –

By 30 March 2013 I will commence weekly meetings with my team, to be held on Tuesday mornings between 8.00-8.30am, these meetings will have an agenda, minutes will be taken and distributed, and outcomes with timeframes will be recorded, so that communication in my team is improved, team members absent from the meeting will be aware of what was discussed and results will be achieved with the allocation of actions and dates.  

For more information about SMART goals, click here. 

My apprentice has a really bad attitude at times, what can I do?
An attitude is a form of expression of you to others.  It is a choice – people can choose to be happy, positive and optimistic or you can choose to be pessimistic, critical and have a negative outlook on your workday.  Either way people are communicating a message that is received by everyone they come into contact with.  

As an employer or apprentice supervisor, you can role model a positive attitude and instil a ‘no blame’ workplace culture which delivers you a healthy and productive workplace environment that will be focused on problem solving, regardless of who made a mistake.   

Through role modelling a positive attitude yourself, you are reflecting your enjoyment and passion for the work that you do, and that you trust and value the people working with and for you.  Your positive attitude will in turn influence those around you.    

I just don’t understand young people today!
Each generation displays characteristics specific to the environment and social impacts experienced during individual lifetimes whilst young and building our concepts of the world, that is, the formative years.  These values, characteristics and experiences influence our behaviours both in our private lives and at work, and also influence our expectations at work.  

If we are to build an effective, equitable, engaging and fair place to work for our younger workers, we need to understand what drives them and what they value at work.  

Research has identified that Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1994) motivation comes from a value on relationships and that they want to be inspired to do the work.  They need to have valued relationships with all stakeholders in the apprenticeship.  Gen Y are also focused on authenticity.  They want relationships to be genuine with a boss who demonstrates interest and concern for them and if they feel they are valued they will show loyalty in return.  

Gen Y are also focused on opportunities for progression and continued training and development.  They value a workplace that promotes continuous improvement and is adaptive and responsive to change and innovation.  Gen Y place an importance on flexibility to achieve lifestyle goals and have a healthy work/life balance.  

Research also shows that Gen Y value host employers, managers and workmates that participate in and contribute to the broader community through care for the environment, volunteering, human rights and quality friendships.  

For more information about generations at work, click here.

However, it’s important to remember that is not all about generations though!  There are many influences on behaviour and motivation.  Regardless of the generation we grew up in and are a member of, our backgrounds, values and beliefs are all different as well, as are our personalities.  These are all factors in what our apprentices bring to the workplace.  

What else does it take to keep a Gen Y apprentice through to completion?
With an awareness of generational characteristics, personality types and the values that apprentices bring to the workplace, we can identify key motivators for Gen Y apprentices and utilise these to build a workplace where they are engaged for the long-term – through to completion of their trade.

As an employer, supervisor or manager it is our responsibility to provide an arrangement where we are not only offering the basics of employment, but are also differentiating our employment arrangement and striving to become an ‘employer of choice’.  This will minimise the risk of non-completions, and as our reputation grows and our employment conditions stand out from the crowd, potential employees will approach us.  

What is the difference between managing, coaching and mentoring an apprentice?
It is important to remember the difference between a manager, a coach and a mentor.  It will make a difference to how you work with the apprentice and your satisfaction with the results you achieve together. As a manager and a supervisor of an apprentice, your role will change and evolve over time, related to the growing competence, capability and independence of your worker and learner.  It is important to know when to recognise your role and when it is changing.

Click here for examples of different scenarios of the role of a manager, coach and a mentor.   

What is a Training Plan?
The Training Plan provides details of the formal training and assessment to be undertaken as part of an apprenticeship or traineeship.  Information captured in the Training Plan includes the employer, learner and Registered Training Organisation (RTO) details for the apprenticeship; units of competency to be undertaken, and how, when and by whom training and assessment will be delivered/undertaken; and training materials, resources, facilities and supervision arrangements that will support the training.

The Training Plan is developed by the RTO in consultation with the employer and the apprentice.  This is your opportunity to negotiate with your RTO to ensure that the training program being delivered and the competencies being learned and assessed are in alignment with the type of work that you do on-the-job.

When developing the Training Plan, the RTO must be satisfied that the employer has the necessary range of work, equipment, and facilities to support delivery of the nominated training.  The RTO will then discuss with the employer and apprentice, and record in the Training Plan, the units of competency to be undertaken, the sequence in which they will be delivered, and how, when, where and by whom training and assessment will be delivered.

In a case where the employer may not be in a position to provide the on the job training for a particular unit of competency, the RTO, in consultation with the employer must outline alternative arrangements agreed to, to support the on the job component of the required training against that unit.

Click here for a summary of motivating your apprentice.