New Zealand apprentices being poached and groomed to move employers - trades leader

Apprentices who have a couple of years under their belts are being offered jobs with other companies. Photo / 123RF

It has been another busy and interesting year in our region. We revisit some of our most popular premium stories from 2023. Originally published on April 10.

A trades leader is calling out employers who poach apprentices, and says the practice is “rife“ and not “ethical”.

One business told NZME it had lost four apprentices in about six weeks and its staff were being “groomed” and quizzed by other tradies at its local supply store.

Master Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers NZ chief executive Greg Wallace said it received about three to four complaints a week about apprentices being poached and the problem was “rife”.

“It’s real ethical for me. Back 30 years ago, people had this loyalty to the business that gave them the opportunity, and now that loyalty has gone. Some businesses seem to be making approaches that I don’t think are in the best interests of the industry.

“It’s bloody annoying and I wish it would stop.”

Wallace said its apprenticeships were five years long, and if you lost an apprentice after two years, “you don’t get the payback”.

He understood apprentices were entitled to freedom of choice and some people may move locations, and no one had a problem with that.

Master Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers NZ chief executive Greg Wallace.

“But when you are moving because it’s like $1 or 50 cents more, or they are giving you a van to take home, we think it’s not right.”

Businesses that had apprentices poached off them were often reluctant to take any more on.

“That is like 100 per cent ... it’s a big frustration because you are starting again.”

New Zealand Certified Builders chief executive Malcolm Fleming said poaching had been around for some time, and it was particularly galling for an employer when a third or fourth-year apprentice was poached by another builder.

“When this occurs in smaller areas, it can put a strain on the relationship between the builder who has invested significant time and resource into an apprentice, and the builder who has poached the apprentice.”

Those who poach were not well-regarded.

“They are bypassing the significant training commitment that is required to be invested into an apprentice across those first two years of the apprenticeship. A practice that at best conveys the laziness of the companies that do it.”

The first two years of an apprenticeship represented hard yards by the employer, as an apprentice was not particularly productive until their third year.

BOP Plumbing and Gas commercial manager Sarah Jamieson said poaching was a problem, and some businesses would intentionally only hire apprentices in their third year or above. It has nine apprentices and had some poached in the past.

“They are not prepared to put in the hard yards for the first couple of years. I believe it is unethical. Unless there has been a breakdown in the employment relationship, you should be taking an apprentice from the beginning of their apprenticeship.”

It came down to money and time.

“People aren’t prepared to lose money on an apprentice or spend the time training someone green.”

She said many people wanted to be apprentices. However, it could make some stop and think whether it was worth it.

“Then you lose a company that was prepared to be a host company, and we all know we need companies that are prepared to take on apprentices or we will never get past the shortage of plumbers/gasfitters and drainlayers that we are facing now.”

Jamieson said apprentices were the future, but they still needed a lot of time with more experienced people to learn the job.

Soren Ebbett, from Peter Jackson Plumbing in the Kāpiti Coast, said she had written to Master Plumbers about poaching.

“We work hard to take on, support and train apprentices to a high standard ... They get talking to others who offer an extra dollar, or to pay for their training, to help them study, or sign off their ‘cashies’ to get them on board.”

She said it had lost four staff to poaching in the past six weeks.

The company had been in business for 26 years, and Ebbett said it questioned why it was happening and concluded it was because they trained to a high standard and would not compromise on things like cash jobs.

“It’s against the law, and we’ve had a number of guys leave because of that.”

She understood there may be circumstances when people needed to move on, but they were few and far between. In some instances, it did not even get an opportunity to counteroffer or “meet them halfway”.

“They are literally just getting shoulder-tapped and they’re gone.”

Classic Builders national operations manager Nick Beck said while poaching was seen by some as unfair and the need to increase wages to prevent “ship-jumping” was common, he believed each scenario could have multiple variables in play.

Demand for skilled labour remained an issue across the country, and it was concerned about the future pipeline of apprentices entering the industry.

“We are still hearing from contractors that there is a skills shortage when trying to source quality tradespeople with strong capabilities.”

Master Builders chief executive David Kelly said the market had a skills shortage and people were moving around more than usual, but it had not heard anything in particular around apprentices.

BCITO Te Pūkenga director Jason Hungerford said it had 20,189 active apprentices and provided training for 15 different trades.

“Apprentices are essential to delivering the homes and buildings that New Zealand needs. We understand that amidst the high amount of construction activity and an acute labour shortage, they are in high demand.

“This can result in more movement between jobs than normal, as is standard in all industries. BCITO Te Pūkenga supports both employers and learners in training but does not play a role in employment matters.”

Data from Tertiary Education Commission estimates reveal in 2022, there were 5220 plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying apprentices, compared to 4675 in 2021. Over the same timeframes, there were 77,740 apprentices compared to 73,140 apprentices across architecture and building and other industries, including engineering, agriculture, health, management and commerce, society and culture, creative arts and food and hospitality.

Waihanga Ara Rau Construction and Infrastructure Development Council has been approached for comment.