What to Sort Before Your First Apprentice Starts

Taking on your first apprentice is one of the bigger decisions a small trade business makes, and most of the difficulty has nothing to do with paperwork. The work itself changes shape. You stop being one person doing a job and start being one person doing a job while teaching someone else to do it. The businesses that handle this well get the groundwork done before day one rather than working it out on the fly in week three.

Understand what it actually costs you

The wage is the visible cost and usually the smaller one. The real cost in the first few months is your own productivity. You will work slower because you are explaining, checking and occasionally re-doing. You will spend time on the phone with the training organisation and time at the end of the day filling in records. None of that is a reason to avoid hiring, but it is a reason to plan for a slower stretch rather than expecting an immediate lift in output.

It helps to be honest about which jobs you can afford to slow down on. If your next eight weeks are wall to wall with tight deadlines, that is the wrong window to start someone.

Get the formal side organised early

Australian apprenticeships run through a training contract, a registered training organisation for the off-the-job component, and an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider who helps set the arrangement up. Wages and conditions sit under the relevant modern award, which sets different rates depending on the apprentice's year and prior schooling. Work out which award applies to your trade and check the current rates directly rather than relying on what another operator told you.

Sort your insurance before the start date as well. Workers compensation is not optional, and your public liability and vehicle cover need to reflect that there is another person on site and possibly in the ute.

Decide what week one actually looks like

"They will pick it up" is how apprentices end up standing around. Before the start date, write down what they will be doing for the first five days, even if it is loading out, setting up, cleaning, holding and watching. Knowing what they are meant to be doing at nine on Tuesday saves you inventing it while you are elbow deep in something else.

A short list of first-month boundaries helps too. Which tools they can use unsupervised, which they cannot touch yet, what they can do on their own, and what always needs you present.

Sort tools, PPE and transport

Have the PPE ready on day one. Boots, hi-vis, eye and hearing protection, gloves, and whatever else your work requires. Do not send someone out to buy their own on the first morning. Decide in advance what tools you provide, what they are expected to build up over the apprenticeship, and whether you will contribute to a tool allowance.

Transport is worth settling before it becomes an argument. Are they meeting you on site or being picked up? Is there room in the vehicle once it is loaded? If they are driving, check the licence and your insurance position.

Write down what you do without thinking

Most experienced tradespeople carry a large amount of knowledge that never gets said out loud. How you set out, how you order, how you talk to a customer, what you check before you leave a site. An apprentice cannot absorb any of that by osmosis. Spending an hour writing down your standard sequence for the three or four jobs you do most often gives you something to hand over and point at, instead of repeating yourself on every job.

There is a second benefit. Those same notes become the basis for training the next person, and for handing work to a subcontractor when you are stretched.

Build a supervision rhythm you will actually keep

A short, consistent check-in beats a long occasional one. Five minutes at the start of the day on what is happening, and five at the end on what went well and what to fix, is enough structure for most first-year apprentices. Keep a simple record of what they have been shown and what they have done. You will need it for their training plan, and it makes the conversations with the training organisation much shorter.

Book the first review before you need it

Put a date in the calendar at the three-month mark to sit down properly and talk about how it is going, in both directions. Problems that are easy to fix at three months are entrenched at nine. This is also the point to reassess your own scheduling, and whether you can start putting them on work that genuinely contributes.

The short version

• Budget for a slower few months, not an immediate productivity gain
• Sort the training contract, award rates and insurance before the start date
• Plan the first week's work in advance, in writing
• Have PPE ready and settle tools and transport up front
• Write down the routines you normally carry in your head
• Run short daily check-ins and record what they have been shown
• Book a three-month review now

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my business is ready for an apprentice?

Two questions matter. Do you have enough consistent work to keep someone busy for the length of the apprenticeship, and can you afford a slower few months while you train them? If the work is steady but you are turning jobs away because you are stretched, that is usually a good sign.

What paperwork do I need before an apprentice starts?

A signed training contract arranged through an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider, an arrangement with a registered training organisation for the off-the-job training, current workers compensation cover, and clarity on which modern award and wage rate applies.

Should I provide tools or expect the apprentice to buy their own?

Both approaches are common, and the important thing is to say which one you are doing before they start. Many businesses provide the expensive and job-specific gear and expect the apprentice to build a basic personal kit over time, sometimes with a tool allowance.