Apprenticeships and Training
Workplace training, also known as trade or industry training, involves learning and earning money while you work. Apprenticeships are one type of workplace training. You can do workplace training in a range of hands-on industries.
There are a number of ways to getting into an apprenticeship. You can either go through Industry Training, you can work for an organisation that employs apprentices, or you can start off in Pre-Apprenticeship programmes. Each method has it's own level of pros and cons, you need to choose which is the right pathway for you.
Industry Training
Industry training covers the traditional trades and apprenticeships across a range of industries.
New Zealand’s 11 Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) are established by each industry. They arrange workplace training within their industries, and work with tertiary education providers to develop and deliver the skills that benefit trainees, employers and the New Zealand economy. ITOs set national skill standards, lead qualifications development, and play a central role in industry-related vocational education and training.
BCITO Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation: Building, construction, flooring, masonry, glass and glazing, joinery, interior systems, and painting and decorating.
Careerforce Community Support Services Industry Training Organisation Limited: Health and disability support, social and community support, cleaning, caretaking, and pest management.
Competenz Competenz Trust: Engineering, manufacturing, forestry, communications and media, maritime and rail transport, and other trades (locksmithing, fire protection, refrigeration, heating and air conditioning).
Connexis Infrastructure Industry Training Organisation: Civil construction, electricity supply and transmission, water, and telecommunications.
HITO New Zealand Hair and Beauty Industry Training Organisation Incorporated: Hairdressing, barbering and beauty.
MITO Motor Industry Training Organisation New Zealand Incorporated:Automotive, commercial road transport and logistics, stevedoring and ports, freight forwarding and distribution, industrial textile fabrication, extractives and drilling, gas, protective coating, and resource recovery.
NZ MAC ITO Boating Industries Association of New Zealand Incorporated: Boat building design and manufacturing, composite manufacturing, marine support services, and sail making.
Primary ITO Primary Industry Training Organisation Incorporated: Agriculture, horticulture, sports turf, equine, dairy manufacturing, meat processing and seafood, and petrochemical, energy and chemical plant.
ServiceIQ Service Skills Institute: Tourism, travel, retail, hospitality, museums, aviation and wholesale goods operations.
Skills Active Aotearoa Skills Active Aotearoa Limited: Sports, fitness and recreation, snowsport and performing arts.
The Skills Organisation The Skills Organisation: Plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying, roofing, electrotechnology, real estate, financial services, local government, public sector (with some exclusions), security, contact centre, offender management, cranes and scaffolding, ambulance, emergency management, and fire services.
Apprenticeship Trusts
Apprenticeship Trusts are set up to employ apprentices and use ITO's as training partners. The major difference is that these trusts pay the apprentice, and send apprentices to different job sites and employers (as opposed to a 'traditional' apprenticeship where you train with one employer).
These are great options if you are unable to find your own employer, and you are guaranteed work. You will need to apply through the websites of these organisations, and there is usually an interview. Most employers of apprentices will be looking at a minimum of Level 2 Sciences, Maths, and English.
ATT Apprenticeship Training Trust: ATT recruits, employs and places apprentices with host businesses in Electrical, Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying trades.
ATNZ Apprentice Training New Zealand: ATNZ gets people into careers they love by matching them with a company looking to train an apprentice. We make it easy to build skills (and a career) by managing the recruitment process for engineering and manufacturing companies on the lookout for new talent.
ETCO The Electrical Training Company: The Electrical Training Company, or Etco, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Master Electricians (previously ECANZ) established to provide employment and training for the electrical industry in New Zealand.
Masterlink Mentored Apprentices Powered by Master Plumbers: Masterlink connects top-quality apprentices with successful NZ plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying and roofing businesses.
NZA Apprenticeships NZA Apprenticeships recruits, employs and places apprentices with host businesses in the building and construction trades. We provide a full service, value for money package, which includes apprentice management, administration and recruitment.
Unitec Unitec Training Trust: The Unitec Apprenticeship Training Trust can help you become a Unitec carpentry apprentice. If you're a Unitec carpentry student and show a high level of competency, the Unitec Apprenticeship Training Trust may be able to find you an apprenticeship with a host employer in the building industry.
Pre-trade training
Pre-trade training courses are generally offered by polytechnics or through private training establishments (PTEs). Most courses offer a combination of practical work and theory. All courses will have a web page detailing what the course involves, what NZQF qualification level it offers, what is needed to be accepted into the course, what the course can lead on to and most importantly, what it will cost.
The pre-trade qualification you get depends on the course you do. Some courses lead directly on to more training options, and if they are part of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) you can cross credit them to a national certificate in the future. Some courses are not part of the NZQF so it is important to check this out too.
In Auckland both Unitec and Manukau Institute of Technology offer pre-trade programmes, as do a number of PTE's. Check out the pages relating to these institutions for more information.