How to find a training place

There is plenty of talk of trade skill shortages and strong promotion of modern apprenticeships, but look in the papers and you rarely see an advertisement for a modern apprenticeship. How do youngsters find them?

Modern apprenticeships differ from the traditional because apprentices have a coordinator overseeing their training and offering mentoring and guidance. The scheme was set up by the Tertiary Education Commission in 2000 to increase participation of young people (16 to 21 years) into the trades. By March this year, there were 8838 modern apprentices in training; a big increase of young people in trades. But there are teething problems.

School-based career advisers say it is hard for students to find apprenticeships. Engineering, electricity, boat building and plumbing are considered the most proactive, particularly engineering industry organization Competenz, and the engineering Apprenticeship Trust New Zealand.

According to Manurewa High School's head of careers Sue Leslie, the pathways into modern apprenticeships are often misunderstood.

"I frequently get students asking me for an apprenticeship but they think that I can just find a contact number and sign them up, like enrolling in a course. They don't realise apprenticeships are a partnership between the apprentice and the employer and they have to go out and look for someone who wants to employ an apprentice."

Leslie says students need to realise apprenticeship training has prerequisites; at least a learner's drivers licence, some NCEA results, a good work ethic, interest in the work etc."

Manukau Career Services consultant Sue Lewis feels Pacific Island, Maori and children of refugees are particularly disadvantaged because they have fewer networks and connections to find apprenticeships.

Maori and Pacific Island young people are definitely under represented in modern apprenticeships, agrees fellow consultant Jenny Kaisala. Pacific Islanders make up 19.9 per cent of the Manukau population; yet there are only 38 young Pacific Island people in modern apprenticeships in the region.

"I get young people and their families coming in and saying, 'I've knocked on X number of doors and given up, because nobody wants to give me a job'."

While she applauds the effort of industries with schools, Kaisala says they need to also get into the communities and churches to talk to the Maori and Pacific Island parents, as well as their children.

Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) policy manager James Turner says an aim of modern apprenticeships is to encourage greater participation by under represented groups. He says it is up to an employer who they employ.

"It can be difficult for coordinators to overcome the wider societal attitudes and perceptions towards the employment of under-represented groups."

Kaisala would like to see the role of the modern apprenticeship coordinator reviewed and broadened to include proactive assistance in locating suitable employers for all groups.

Mt Roskill Grammar School head of careers, Marion Brightmore would too. "We're often told coordinators don't have the time or resources to help school leavers find apprenticeships."

According to TEC, modern apprenticeships are an employment initiative that encourages and supports young people to engage in industry training and undertake qualifications.

"It is not a work-placement initiative although coordinators do assist with matching prospective modern apprentices to employers when requested," says Turner.

Yet the TEC website describes a modern apprenticeships coordinator as someone who "can help you to find an employer who offers quality on-the-job training, or they can talk to your employer about getting you started in a modern apprenticeship".

Building industry training organization (BCITO) modern apprenticeship coordinator Bob Wharehinga sees his role clearly.

"We don't recruit, although we promote the scheme in schools. Our role starts when an employer rings us up and says he has an apprentice he wants to sign up. Young people wanting apprenticeships need to go knocking on doors of building sites, and looking in the Yellow Pages."

Kaisala would also love to see a data base of employers keen to employ apprentices. She asks if the ITOs, who develop and monitor the NZQA training standards, could provide one.

"Young people need to know where to go to get information on available jobs."

Some ITOs, such as electricity supply and ATNZ, provide links to vacancies on their websites. But the practice isn't uniform. In fact the BCITO used to run a database and employers complained they were receiving calls from people who weren't appropriate and were wasting their time, says Wharehinga.

To confuse things further, a modern apprenticeship coordinator can be a person or an organisation. Of 48 modern apprenticeship coordinators, 18 are ITOs. Others include polytechnics, private training providers and individuals.

Brightmore says pre-trade or pre-employment courses are often touted as a way to open doors to apprenticeships because they provide some practical skills, prepare school leavers for the workplace and are seen as a good recruiting ground by employers.

"But they can be costly. Many of our students simply can't afford them and there is still no guarantee at the end."

And there are limited spaces. Brightmore tells of a school leaver offered an apprenticeship through a family friend on condition he did a pre-employment course. The course was full.

Brightmore says the only light at the end of the tunnel for some of her students are the few trade youth training courses on offer (free to under 18 year olds with low qualifications). "But it depends if you are lucky enough to have one in your area and if there are any vacancies."

Pre-trade courses can be free or cost up to $4000, depending on the trade, provider and ITO. Earn as you learn happens later. So are these pre-trade courses helping the youngsters who can afford to take them and gain that edge and contact with employers?

Not at all, says Manukau Institute of Technology modern apprenticeship manager Denise Loseby.

"The modern apprenticeship coordinators at MIT would pass on information about any employers looking for apprentices if a young person or their parents came asking, even if they are not doing a pre-trade."

Loseby says most MIT pre-trade courses are 18 weeks long and cost $2000. While she acknowledges $2000 is a lot to pay for someone from a low socio economic background, she can't see how the courses can be cheaper.

Some ITOs try to keep things economically accessible. For example, the Electricity Supply ITO offers free taster courses and scholarships for students attending pre-employment courses. Others do similar.

And of course there are industries that are now over subscribed. One modern apprenticeship coordinator explained his industry couldn't take on many more apprentices because they didn't have enough skilled supervisors to oversee the training even though the apprentices would be welcome on the shop floor.

Loseby says anyone signed up with an employer for a modern apprenticeship should be assured of getting a place. She points out that they may have to wait until the New Year to start a block course, but they can sign up and start learning.

TEC allocates funding based on bids from the modern apprenticeships coordinators. Bids are based on regional industry demand, existing numbers of modern apprentices as well as projected growth. Funding is then allocated to coordinators on the basis of achieving those forecast funding bids at the end of each quarter.

"Funding for Modern Apprenticeships has increased significantly in recent years but there are instances where demand exceeds supply," says Turner.


Apprenticeships

* Once signed up, apprentices train on-the-job (in the workplace under a qualified supervisor) and off-the-job through correspondence or block courses or regular visits to an institute of technology.

* Pre-trade or pre-employment courses are usually run by institutes of technologies or private providers.

* There are severe skill shortages in 14 trades: auto electrician, boat builder, bricklayer, cabinet maker, carpenter, chef, diesel mechanic, electrician, fitter and turner, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic, line mechanic, plumber, printing machinist and sheet metal worker.