COMPLETING THE APPRENTICESHIP

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Posted January 30, 2017

After three or four long years of training, silly mistakes, watching and learning, your apprentice is getting ready to graduate from their RTO and become a fully-fledged member of our industry. It’s an exciting time for both employers and your apprentice, as they come out the other side with a passion and drive to do right by clients and make their mark as they embark on their career. But there are a few final pieces to the apprenticeship puzzle that need to be completed correctly to ensure that everyone is satisfied with the new qualification.

 

1. Signing off Modules

By now, your apprentice should have come to you from time to time to sign off modules as they go through their training. Signing the training plan indicates that you agree that the apprentice is competent in the unit.

We have previously recommended that you don’t sign off anything if you do not believe that the apprentice is competent and we stand by that. If there is more time needed to be spent on particular modules, contact the RTO to discuss the need for more time on the module before you agree to a sign off and a retest to ensure that the apprentice is competent.

The particular modules that seem to cause the most concern include consultation, conflict resolution and problem-solving, all very hands-on training exercises that impact the client experience in the salon. Gaining competency in these areas may come down to spending more time in the salon in day-to-day work and can be discussed with the RTO while you delay signing off until there is more on the job experience.

2. Signing off Letter
   

   The final keystone of the apprenticeship, the Signing Off Letter is sent to both the employer (you) and the employee (apprentice) to confirm completion of the apprenticeship after proof of competency is sent to the Apprentice Board by the RTO. If you ignore this letter, the apprentice will be automatically completed on the date specified, which doesn’t give you the opportunity to ensure the apprentice is ready to enter the workforce – and we need that to maintain the standards of our industry.

 

Both salon owners and apprentices are required to sign off on the form, and you should ask yourself the following questions before sign off:

• Can the apprentice be productive as a qualified senior, including reaching targets?
• Can they be left unsupervised and perform all the tasks they need to do as part of a salon environment?
• Can they meet the salon timing requirements on all services?

If any of these conditions are not met and you are not happy to complete the apprenticeship and you and your apprentice disagree on the standards, now is the time to discuss with your apprenticeship centre or government training department to go through dispute resolution. If you need any assistance with dispute resolution, HABA can provide advice and assistance to our members when they call (02) 9221 9911.

 

3. Offer of Position

On completion of all paperwork and any additional conditions or training, as a salon owner, you now have a choice to keep the apprentice as a senior (in either full-time, part-time or casual capacity) or to let them go if you no longer need them in the salon.

• If you offer a permanent position to the apprentice, all accrued leave will roll over.
• If you offer a casual position, all leave entitlements need to be paid out to the apprentice.

If you choose not to renew the apprentice’s contract, the completion of the contract marks the end of their time with your salon. You need to provide the apprentice with a notice of termination before completion of the training contract, or you are required to pay out the time in lieu before the completion date. Working even one day after the end of the apprenticeship is considered a continuation of contract, giving the apprentice all the entitlements owed to a full-time member of staff  – a costly decision if you aren’t looking to keep the apprentice long term.

 

HABA always recommends keeping apprentices that you have trained and are happy with, as they understand the internal workings of your salon and how you like work to be done, but also form a strong glue within your team of stylists – they are as much a part of your team as any other, and it can be hard to lose them as a teammate for other staff.

 

We encourage all salon owners to take on new apprentices, train them and grow them into productive and positive members of the hair and beauty industry. We want to see our industry grow, and we can only do that if salons take on new apprentices and take them through to completion of their training. But we also appreciate that an apprenticeship is not an easy undertaking for anyone involved, and we recommend you think carefully about your dedication to the apprentice before you begin anything. We have shared all the knowledge we can with you over the past few months to make training and fulfilling your apprenticeship requirements as easy as possible – now it is up to you to begin.