Setting your business up for future success means growing new strengths in your workforce. And thereās never been a better time to do it, with free fees on all apprenticeships and targeted traineeships. You can also potentially access Apprenticeship Boost wage subsidies and other benefits to address your skills shortages and prepare your business for a new era of work.
To make the most of new opportunities and growth potential, you need to align your workforce skills with your strategic direction. We can help you structure training solutions that help you upskill your people and stay on track for success.āā
Developing your workforce beyond onboarding and compliance training has many benefits:
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- Skill gaps are filled fast because you have a pool of trained staff who are ready to step up
- Employees have the knowledge and confidence to improve their skills, processes and outputs
- Your teamsā familiarity with the latest technologies give you a competitive advantage
- Employee satisfaction can increase due to training and upskilling opportunities.
The first step in determining what sort of training programme you should run is a workforce competency assessment. Our simple skills assessment questionnaire can help get you started.
Depending on the number of staff you employ, you may need support from one of our industry training advisors to help develop your training solution.
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āAll apprenticeships in our 37 sectors are fees-free. There are four separate funds that have been set up to help employers train apprentices and staff.āā
Apprenticeship Boost is a wage subsidy for employers of new and currently enrolled first and second-year apprentices. This payment is made directly to employers to support the hiring and retention of apprentices. It is available until 31 December 2023.
The first-year apprentice subsidy to employers will change to $500 per month from 5 August 2022, matching the second-year apprenticesā subsidy which will remain at $500 per month. Apprenticeship Boost is administered by Work and Income and special conditions apply.
(free apprenticeships and traineeships)
Competenz apprenticeships are fees-free from 01 July 2020 to 31 December 2022 for all currently enrolled and new apprentices. This includes resources, block courses, night classes, study groups, and eLearning fees.
The fund also covers Level 3 to 7 New Zealand Certificate targeted traineeships and micro-credentials in these sectors:
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The fund also covers Level 2 New Zealand Certificate targeted traineeships in these sectors:
This is a wage subsidy and other pastoral care for employers of new and currently enrolled first and second-year apprentices through Work and Incomeās Mana in Mahi scheme.
The New Zealand Government has announced more funding for additional Mana in Mahi places over the new two years as part of their Budget 2022 announcement.
Under the provincial growth fund, this is a wage subsidy and additional business support of up to $40,000 per apprentice. The scheme was previously administered by Work and Income and initially focused on displaced workers and MÄori and Pasifika. The RAI is now closed to new applicants, but can still be accessed by small to medium enterprises looking for up to 10 apprentices in specific regions. The funds are now administered by third-party providers whose contact details can be found here.
An apprenticeship is an investment of time, money and effort into your business. That means it is worth doing right. Hereās some practical steps for bringing an apprentice onboard:
If youāre keen to hire a new apprentice, fill out the job profile and we'll advertise the role to our Jobseeker database.
If you want to train an existing staff member as an apprentice, fill out this form and one of our industry training advisors will help with learner contracts, learning programme enrolments, and Ā funding arrangements.
Apprenticeships and traineeships deliver most of the training on-the-job. However some training in certain apprenticeships is provided off-site. Typically staff are away for 2-3 weeks and this is organised with significant advance notice.
Our training advisors have regular quarterly check-ins with apprentices. They also check in with the trainers and help assess an apprentice's training to ensure they are developing their skills at the right pace.
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If you need more information from our expert team, visit our Frequently Asked Questions. This is updated frequently. If you can't find an answer, get in touch by clicking the chat bubble at the bottom right of the screen. We are currently experiencing high demand, so answers typically take two business days.
