Exclusive: Master Electricians CEO on a better apprenticeship service for all

Master Electricians Australia (MEA) is a firm advocate of apprentice training and upskilling. Which is why, through ApprenticeConnect Australia, MEA is continuing to better its services to manage and mentor apprenticeships.

The ApprenticeConnect service assists employers in the apprentice hire process on their behalf from recruitment to completion. This includes, among other services, providing advice and facilitating communication and ongoing monitoring of an apprentice’s training, facilitation of a training plan with the registered training organisation (RTO) as well as on-the-job training and mentoring. These services are tailored to each individual employer and apprentice to match them with an apprenticeship mentor for the life of the apprenticeship. What’s great about this service is that companies do not have to be MEA members to gain access to it.

Due to a new arrangement with the federal government, and new federal funding, this service will now cost $41 a month for every apprentice in his or her first year and $83 a month for a second-year apprentice, where the cost was previously $220.

The ApprenticeConnect service has seen great success since its implementation in 2007. ApprenticeConnect has been providing services in Queensland at a reduced rate with funding from Skills Queensland. The apprentice dropout rate under the Skills Queensland project, which has been operating since October 2010, stands at 3.5%, in comparison to the national dropout rate of approximately 60%. Within the six months from January to June of this year, ApprenticeConnect has conducted 400 visits, successfully completed 21 apprentices and commenced 71 more. This has led to plans for MEA to help employers recruit a further 450 apprentices by the end of June this year.

Furthermore, MEA was recently awarded funding under the federal government’s Australian Apprenticeships Mentoring Package. This has enabled MEA to employ four full-time Apprenticeship Mentors, and administration support staff, to run these services across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. In partnership with Energy Skills Queensland (ESQ), MEA will provide a further four staff members as Apprenticeship Advisors and mentors for people wanting to enter into the electrical industry as part of the ApprenticeConnect Australia Advisor program.

Programs such as the ApprenticeConnect service are big steps forward, not only in working towards better apprenticeships for both apprentices and employers within the electrical industry but also in addressing skills shortages within the industry. Successful apprenticeships allow us to better plan for the future needs of the industry. Of the $80 million of funding available under the Australian Apprenticeships Mentoring Program, MEA was one of 13 successful winners of Mentoring and one of 21 winners of Advisors awarded agreements. This ensures that the service MEA continues to provide, through ApprenticeConnect, goes further in ensuring apprentices and their employers get the best apprenticeship experience without cause for worry.

The views and opinions expressed in this document are those of Master Electricains Australia Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government or state and territory governments.