Your responsibilities
As an employer of an apprentice or trainee, your responsibilities to them will include:
- making sure they receive the correct training and are enrolled with a registered training organisation (RTO)
- allowing them to leave work to attend off-the-job training
- providing them with appropriate facilities and experienced people to work with.
For more help understanding your obligations and expectations, see:
Getting started
The Australian Apprenticeship Support Network is the nationwide advisory service for employers of apprentices and trainees.
Your first step is to contact an Apprenticeship Network provider in your area. They will tell you everything you need to know about finding an apprentice or trainee and entering into a training contract.
To find your local Apprenticeship Network provider, see:
For more information, call the Australian apprenticeships referral line on 13 38 73, or see:
Becoming an approved employer
New employers complete and sign a VRQA Fit and proper employer declaration form.
This process is administered by Apprenticeship Network Providers when a new employer seeks to arrange a training contract with an apprentice or trainee.
The form must be completed by a director or a person with authority to bind the company.
Your details and the form will be provided to us. It is then our job to decide whether to approve you as an employer, before you enter into any training contract.
Some of the criteria we consider include:
the premises in which the apprentice or trainee is to be employed.
the equipment and methods to be used in training.
whether any person whom the employer uses or intends to use for supervising the apprentice's training:
has the appropriate qualifications, knowledge and skill
is otherwise a fit and proper person for the purpose of training.
- whether the employer is a fit and proper person to employ an apprentice.
For more details on our approval process, see: