Eligibility

School-based traineeships or Australian School-based Apprenticeships give students the opportunity to study at school whilst undertaking government approved and accredited training. This provides valuable work experience and a head start into a career.

• A Senior Secondary School student may undertake an Australian School-based Apprenticeship (AS-bA) whilst still attending school and completing Years 10, 11 or 12.
• The student is able to combine paid part time work and formal industry based training whilst completing their senior secondary certificate.
• The student will be paid in accordance with the appropriate Industry Award.
• The student will gain industry training via a TAFE or other Registered Training Organisation (RTO). The RTO will assess the student against competencies from the training package.
• The formal industry training components of the Australian School-based Apprenticeship provides credit towards your final school leaving exams.
• The student’s school endorses the training plan.
• This is what the government needs for an Australian Apprentice who is undertaking an endorsed Australian School-based Apprenticeship. MEGT will help sort it all out with you. That’s what the government pays us to do.
• The Australian Apprentice is enrolled as a secondary school student under the relevant State or Territory Education Act.
• MEGT Australian Apprenticeships Centre helps organise the school-based traineeship with the school, the parent or guardian, the employer and the student.
• The secondary school principal (or delegate) endorses the training plan.
• MEGT lodges the paperwork with the State Training Authority who approves the Australian Apprentice’s placement with the business employer organisation.
• The Australian Apprentice commences, and attends, relevant training.
• MEGT helps organise the claim form which must be signed and dated by both the employer and Australian Apprentice after the Commonwealth three month waiting period and the State probation period has been served and registration has occurred.

State Specific Conditions

Queensland

The Australian Apprentice must be employed and paid for a minimum of 8 hours per week (including structured training) with a minimum of 48 days per year (school term and holidays).

South Australia

The Australian Apprentice must be employed and paid for a minimum of 8 hours per week (including structured training) averaged over the duration of the training contract.

Tasmania

The Australian Apprentice must be employed and paid for a minimum of 8 to 15 hours per week (including structured training), and for a minimum of 720 hours per year (school term and holidays).

Victoria

Where training is provided in the workplace the Australian Apprentice must be employed for a minimum of 13 hours per week (averaged over a four month cycle) and where training is not fully workplace based the Australian Apprentice must undertake a minimum of 7 hours per week employment and a minimum of 6 hours per week of structured training, averaged over a four month cycle.

Western Australia

Nominal duration of a school-based traineeship will be the nominal full-time term multiplied by 1.5. For a traineeship with a full time nominal duration of one year (18 months for school based) the minimum hours of employment must be 624 hours (78 days @ 8 hours a day).

Note: An employer, who commences an Australian Apprentice post-completion of Year 12 and meets particular requirements, may be eligible for the Australian School-based Apprenticeships Retention incentive even though they were not the employer for the Australian School-based Apprenticeship.

To help you organise things, just contact your local MEGT office. It’s a free service

What’s the difference between an apprenticeship and a traineeship?

Apprenticeships and traineeships are jobs that combine paid work and structured training. Collectively, they are called Australian Apprenticeships.

Although they vary from one industry to another, apprenticeships and traineeships include:

1) paid employment under an appropriate industrial arrangement (for example, an award or enterprise agreement)

2) nationally recognised training.

Traineeships

Over 600 traineeship vocations are available in a range of areas, including Business, Hospitality, Retail, Community Health, Child Care, Financial Services and many more.Traineeships generally take between twelve to twenty four months to complete.

Apprenticeships

There are hundreds of apprenticeships available.

Apprenticeships generally last between thirty six to forty eight months and cover trade areas such as Building and Construction, Horticulture, Cooking, the Automotive industry, Engineering, Manufacturing and many more.