​Apprenticeships have, for many years, been the traditional way that young people received training in a broad range of trade areas. This usually involves four years of work and study before becoming fully qualified or licensed in that trade. Apprentices will usually work on the job with their employer four days per week and receive off the job training one day per week, usually with an organisation such as TAFE.
More recently we have seen the introduction of Traineeships. These are like Apprenticeships in that a person is taken on by an employer and receives on the job training with the employer and off the job training with an organisation such as TAFE Qld. Traineeships only go for twelve months. At the end of a Traineeship, you will receive a qualification, but you will not be a fully qualified tradesperson (however, you can go on to get this qualification). You can even undertake a traineeship while you are still at school and have it count towards your Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE).
A traineeship works in a very similar way to an apprenticeship, in that you have on the job training with your employer and off the job training with a registered training organisation.
Traineeships are available in a huge number of industry areas and normally last from one to three years. The Traineeship can take less time if you have had previous experience in that industry area or if you learn quickly and complete the required work in less time.
For complete information about traineeships, click here.
A really useful site is the "Australian Apprenticeships Pathways" site - it has a lot of useful information and you can access it here.
