Employer responsibilities
Employer responsibilities under the school-based apprenticeship and traineeship (SAT) scheme are outlined below:
Employment and wages
Training
Supervision
Fair treatment
Safety
Notifying the Department of Education and Training (DET)
Employment and wages
Employers of school-based apprentices and trainees must provide a minimum of the equivalent of 48 days full-time paid employment for each year of the school-based apprenticeship or traineeship (SAT). This may include employment during the school holiday period where the employer and student agree.
They must pay the wages and provide the entitlements as specified in the relevant employment agreement or award.
Training
Training must be delivered by the employer as required in the training contract and training plan.
The employer must also allow the school-based apprentice or trainee to participate in the training delivered by the supervising registered training organisation (SRTO) as outlined in the training plan.
Note:
If the apprentice or trainee does not have a signed training plan and the probationary period has ended, employers should contact the participating SRTO to develop the training plan.
The following information sheets contain more about an employer's responsibilities regarding training:
Supervision
Employers must ensure the school-based apprentice or trainee is adequately supervised in the workplace.
As a general rule, there should be one tradesperson for each school-based apprentice and one qualified person to each school-based trainee. The supervisor should be permanently employed in the same workplace as the school-based apprentice or trainee during the same working hours.
As the apprentice or trainee develops more skills, they will not need to be supervised as closely as when they first started their school-based apprenticeship or traineeship (SAT). A tradesperson or qualified person should, however, always be available for assistance if required.
See the following information sheets to learn more:
Fair treatment
School-based apprentices and trainees must be treated equally to other employees in the workplace. Apprentices and trainees are entitled to take action if they feel they have been bullied, harassed, discriminated against, or if their safety has been put at risk.
Harassment can include workplace bullying, sexual, racial or religious harassment; ridicule (e.g. name calling, racist jokes), physical and emotional intimidation (e.g. physical threats or abuse, display of threatening or offensive slogans or restricted access to services and facilities).
For more information regarding the prevention of workplace harassment and bullying, please refer to the Workplace harrassment page on the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations website or contact the department on 1300 369 915.
Safety
Employers are responsible for the health and safety of school-based apprentices and trainees while in the workplace. The employer must:
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provide the school-based apprentice or trainee with an introduction to the workplace that covers hazard identification and risk prevention
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provide the school-based apprentice or trainee with training in safe work practices
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ensure initial and ongoing supervision
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provide the school-based apprentice or trainee with any personal and protective equipment within the industrial award, including instructions on how to properly use and wear equipment
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guard hazardous plant and machinery
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prevent and minimise the risk of exposure to hazardous substances and manual handling injuries.
Safety at work is covered in the information sheet. For further information, please visit the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations website or contact the department on 1300 369 915.
Notifying the Department of Education and Training (DET)
Employers should notify DET through Apprenticeships Info within 14 days of any of the following events taking place:
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amendment or cancellation of the training contract
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temporary assignment of the training contract (that is, an arrangement for the apprentice or trainee to work temporarily with another employer and receive training in required competencies)
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sale or disposal of the business
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dissolution or change of a business partnership
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if it is considered that the school-based apprentice or trainee is not making reasonable progress in the apprenticeship or traineeship (SAT)
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if it is considered that the school-based apprentice or trainee will not complete their training within the timeframe shown in the training plan.
For more information about employer responsibilities, visit the For Employers section on the Training website.