Finding (and keeping) good employees is one of the most challenging things about being a business owner or employer. The ABS estimates that 8.2% of the Australian workforce changed their employer in the year to February 2020. However, 14.3% of the hospitality workers changed employers and 10.5% of employees in administrative services. If your business is among them, additional training could just be the way to motivate your workforce to stay.
Investing in employees with the intention of educating and training them into the job, can be done via a traineeship. Youth unemployment in WA is rising. With thousands of willing and able young Aussies desperately wanting to get back into the workforce — and with some generous government incentives on the table — traineeships could be a great investment for your business.
Apprenticeship and traineeship numbers have fallen in the past 10 years, but in 2021, businesses all over Australia are revisiting the trainee model — and for good reason! With a new wage subsidy scheme on offer, there has never been a better time to employ a new apprentice or trainee in your business.
What are traineeships?
Traineeships provide individuals with the opportunity to train and study toward a nationally recognised qualification. They combine on-and off-the-job training, while allowing an individual to participate in the workforce and earn an income and are usually completed in one or two years.
You can customise training to suit your business
From day one, you can train your trainee in ‘your way of doing the job’, increasing your business’s efficiency and productivity.
You can also customise the training you provide to suit the needs of your business, by providing training in an area of your business wherever skills are required.
What benefits do trainees provide to employers?
Not only will a trainee help your business grow its talent pool and build a skilled workforce; they’ll give your business the opportunity to adapt your training according to business needs, bridge intergenerational divides, and the chance to upskill your existing workforce. Additionally, staff turnover from hiring trainees tends to be lower as people who have trained with a business are more likely to stay with that business.
As well as the obvious cost benefits of taking on an apprentice or trainee, employers benefit from the flexibility of traineeships and find the talent pool particularly enthusiastic to learn new skills.
The best part? Traineeships are now even more cost-effective, thanks to the current Government scheme…
Why now is the time to consider hiring an apprentice or trainee
Through the subsidy, any business that engages an apprentice or trainee by 31 March 2022 may be eligible for a subsidy of 50 percent of wages paid to a new or recommencing apprentice or trainee for a 12-month period from the date of commencement, to a maximum of $7,000 per quarter.
There is no cap on the number of eligible apprentices/trainees, and the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy is in addition to the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy which has helped small and medium businesses to keep their apprentices and trainees in work and training.
Looking to place your staff into traineeships to boost your business in 2021? We can also help you find trainees. Contact Vocational Training Services today on (08) 6216 0165 for a no-obligation chat with one of our team members.
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Imagine working for a company where you are considered to be the most significant asset. Imagine working for a company that encourages and fosters a culture where employees must be as respectful and dignified towards each other as they are to their customers. Imagine working for a company where your ideas are valued. Well that company is here in Perth, and our hospitality graduates have been getting jobs there.
The Ritz-Carlton opened at Elizabeth Quay in November 2019 and it is currently the only Ritz-Carlton property in Australia. It has 205 rooms, 19 suites and the restaurant Hearth. Guests have at their disposal a private spa, club lounge, function rooms and the podium rooftop bar. The Ritz-Carlton Perth currently employs about 190 people. Those in their employ are people who genuinely care to be of service to others. People who take the initiative to pre-emptively detect their customers’ needs. People who are sociable, caring, and interested in learning. This is a company who takes its selection process very seriously.
Our VTS hospitality trainers build on their past industry contacts and experience and have partnered up with the Ritz-Carlton to offer our students work experience placements. This partnership has seen seven students gain work experience and several of those students gaining employment there.
Our VTS trainers are in close contact with the Ritz-Carlton, ensuring that each student is placed in a department that would suit them best. Gokhan, a recent graduate, showed a keen interest in the bar and now works as a bartender at the Songbird Bar & Lounge. Eloise, a painter by trade, completed a VTS hospitality course and is now working in the spa as a trainee receptionist.
“We’re extremely pleased with the job outcomes from this course. These students have worked extremely hard and it’s great to see them getting an opportunity with a premier hospitality business such as the Ritz,” enthused Matt Dowd, Managing Director of Vocational Training Services (VTS).
VTS enjoys a very good working relationship with the Ritz-Carlton who is very supportive and accepting of people for work experience opportunities. As a result of that, they are then accessing some great people from our courses. The VTS hospitality courses are opening up options for our students who may have been unemployed before commencing the course but can now fulfil their career goals and start a serious career in hospitality.
Our hospitality courses run on a term by term basis in two great locations within the Perth metro area; Victoria Park and our newly opened dedicated hospitality training centre in Joondalup. Contact Gerard or Nicola on (08) 6216 0165 for further details.
Vocational Training Services graduates
Vocational Training Services (VTS), in partnership with Kingsway Christian College (KCC), is proud to be able to offer KCC students a first-class vocational education experience, where students are able to mix traditional school, work experience and formal study with a quality Registered Training Organisation. Through vocational learning, secondary students can explore the world of work, identify career options, and plan their future education and training options. An experience that is valued by parents, students, teachers and employers.
The Certificate II in Kitchen Operations runs for 18-months during school terms in Year 11 and 12. It provides students with a head start should they wish to seek to gain permanent or temporary employment within the hospitality industry. The units that make up this certificate are chosen to maximise trainees’ pathways into the industry, which include; chef, front of house, business, casual hospitality employment and barista.
Our students’ vocational learning is seamlessly integrated into their secondary schooling. It is delivered within the school and includes access to experiential learning delivered in the school canteen/café. The canteen/café becomes a learning area as well as workplace that showcases the trainees daily to their peers. The students are employees of the school and are paid to attend shifts in the production kitchen, and to conduct lunch services and functions.
The function work is an essential part of this course. The functions are planned and executed to an industry standard and the students are exposed to the skills required for their qualification. As the school utilises the canteen/café for all their functions, this creates positive benefits to the school, as well as the students. Additionally, the constant availability of the canteen/café makes sure the students obtain the critical area of “hours worked” required of all school-based trainees.
VTS trainer, Chris Martin, is also a qualified Chef. Chris brings extensive industry experience in all aspects of catering to the program and ensures the quality of the workplace training. Students appreciate having an experienced industry professional that they work with each shift. In particular, they thrive having an experienced professional available when catering for functions and other events.
Confidence comes from experience, so the focus of VTS and its trainers is to give the trainees real industry training and experience on the way to obtaining their qualification.
Earlier this year Vocational Training Services opened the doors to a dedicated hospitality training centre in Joondalup. Jobseekers looking for a career in front of house hospitality will be wowed by the training opportunities provided at the centre where they will discover the different aspects of hospitality from cafes to fine dining.
The course is designed to provide the skills employers need and our tailor-made Barista Course is a big hit with students. These skills, as well as obtaining their Responsible Service of Alcohol, will help our position our students well when applying for hospitality jobs.
The program runs over a 10-week period for three days per week and covers all the skills a prospective employee needs in the hospitality industry. In the training centre, students get to develop skills in plate carrying, customer service, food service, bark work, tray service of drinks, teamwork and complaint handling. In addition to this, students are expected to complete a number of shifts in a real workplace!
Experienced trainer and assessor Nicola Dench’s tailored approach sees her working hard to make sure that each student has the opportunity to complete their workplace training in their ideal workplace. Paddy Malone’s is conveniently located next door, and students have been able to complete their practical assessments for “Clean and Tidy a bar” in the venue.
The VTS hospitality training course offers students a very flexible learning experience. Our trainers understand the external demands on anyone trying to study and will work with students if they need time off to attend an interview for example, or if they have childcare issues. Taking control of your life and engaging in a new career or even updating skills can be an exciting but scary prospect. Our trainers love people and love their job and are very interested in meeting new people and helping them along this journey to opening up bigger and better opportunities within the industry.
VTS hospitality graduate, Grace Vicary, who was offered work placement at the Parmelia Hilton said that she, “personally loved the consistency of each class, every new subject or topic was quite easily digestible and explained thoroughly. The free teas and coffees were appreciated as well as frequent breaks from paperwork to draw on the black board.”
Tenille Towler, currently working at the Shingle Inn in Cloverdale said that she is, “glad I did this course as it’s helped me gain confidence, knowledge and skills and helped me start my new job.”
The Joondalup office opened on 9 February for the first course. The next course starts 19 April.
Grace Vicary – “I personally loved the consistency of each class.”
Tenille Towler – “I’m glad I did this course as it’s helped me gain confidence.”
