This is a very exciting time for your child, they are about to begin the next chapter of their lives and the initial stages of entering an apprenticeship or traineeship can be very overwhelming. For some, this will be their first job and exposure to how businesses operate.

When your child agrees to become an apprentice or trainee, they are committing to on the job training, work and study for a period of 3-4 years for an apprentice, or 1-2 years for a trainee.

Statistics show that Australian apprentice and trainee’s completion is now less than 50%. One of the major factors preventing this is due to a lack of support from parents and key people involved in their apprenticeship or traineeship.

It is important as a parent or guardian that you show enthusiasm towards their chosen career path by being a confident role model who can encourage and promote independence and self learning.

During your child’s apprenticeship or traineeship, there are many ways you can show your support. These include:

• Ensure they are well informed about their new career and what is required of them
• Talk to your child about the conditions of their employment, ie. pay, hours, duties, entitlements
• Have open discussions about their experiences so far, share your experiences with them too
• Guide your child to having realistic expectations
• Encourage them to talk to other apprentices or trainees about their experiences
• Have discussions with your child about working with a variety of ages and generations in their new workplace
• Help them develop good working behaviours & promote a can-do attitude
• Talk about what is appropriate in a workplace
• Put emphasis on how important it is to communicate effectively in the workplace and show respect for others
• Help them to focus on the bigger picture, talk about the value of their trade in the long term & what other opportunities may present at the end of their training
• Discuss training / study commitments and results
• Ask questions about their employer and get to know their employer if you can
• Teach them to manage their finances
• Regularly ask them about their work day
• Take a genuine interest in what they are doing
• If they have the opportunity, allow them to demonstrate their new skills
• Help your child to set goals they can work towards. Talk about where they want to be in 12 months, what skills they want to gain and what financial and personal achievements do they want, as goal setting helps to drive motivation and on the job performance