AP830245CRV – Postal Services Industry Award 2003
17. TRAINING, APPRENTICESHIP, PART-TIME JUNIOR AND ADULT APPRENTICES
17.1 Apprenticeship
17.1.1 Scope of the apprenticeship clause
17.1.1(a) This clause shall apply to apprentices.
17.1.1(b) An apprentice is an employee who is engaged under a Training Agreement registered by the relevant State or Territory Training Authority, where the qualification outcome specified in the Training Agreement is a relevant qualification from a Training Package endorsed by the National Training Framework Committee.
17.1.1(c) For the purpose of this subclause a relevant qualification is a qualification:
17.1.1(c)(i) from the National Training Package that covers occupations or work which are covered by this award, or is a qualification from an enterprise Training Package listed in Schedule B - List of national training packages; and
17.1.1(c)(ii) at Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate Level III [or at Level IV for those qualifications listed in 15.3 and Schedule A - Classification standards] except where the qualifications can normally be completed through a Training Agreement of a duration of two years or less (note: such qualifications would generally be covered by traineeship provisions).
17.1.1(d) An apprentice shall also include an employee who is engaged under a Training Agreement or Contract of Training for an apprenticeship declared or recognized by the relevant State of Territory Training Authority.
17.1.2 Wages
Year of apprenticeship
% of PSO/PDO
level 2Wage per week
$Pre apprenticeship
45%
260.46
1st year
55%
318.34
2nd year
77.5%
448.57
3rd year
90%
520.92
17.1.3 The employer may engage pre-apprentices and apprentices under the terms of the regulations or provisions of the appropriate State Training Authority (STA) or its agent provided that a person shall not be deemed to be an apprentice until their indenture has been approved by the STA.
17.1.4 The employer shall reimburse an apprentice for all fees and levies relevant to the apprentice training upon satisfactory completion of each year’s training and the cost of all tools necessary for carrying out their work, except where tools are provided at the employer’s expense.
17.1.5 The pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship training program and conditions shall be in accordance with the appropriate STA or its agent.
17.1.6 All other conditions of employment shall be in accordance with this award.
17.2 Part-time junior and adult apprentices
17.2.1 The wages for full-time junior and adult apprentices as set out in this award shall apply to part-time apprentices for total hours worked including time spent in off-the-job training.
17.2.2 For the purposes of 17.2.1, where an apprentice is a full-time school student, the time spent in off-the-job training for which the apprentice is paid is deemed to be 25% of the actual hours each week worked on-the-job. The wages paid for training may be averaged over a semester or year.
17.2.3 Part-time apprentice’s weekly off-the-job training time (for other than school based apprentices) may be averaged over the period of a year or some other agreed period, provided that the pattern of ordinary working and training hours is specified in advance as part of the training program at the commencement of each year.
17.2.4 The part-time apprentice shall be allowed, over the duration of the apprenticeship, the same amount of time to attend off-the-job training as an equivalent full-time apprentice.
17.2.5 For the purposes of this subclause, off-the-job training is structured training delivered by a Registered Training Organisation separate from normal work duties or general supervised practice undertaken on the job.
17.2.6 The duration of a part-time apprenticeship shall be specified in the training agreement or contract for each apprentice. The period so specified to which the apprentice wage rates apply shall not exceed six years.
17.2.7 A part-time apprentice who is not a full-time school student should be advised by the employer in writing in advance and at least once each year of the off-the-job training hours and that these hours form part of the paid hours for the apprentice. This advice will be consistent with the training agreement.
17.2.7(a) Note 1
Apprentice hourly rates take account of the fact that they spend some of their time in off-the-job training.
17.2.7(b) Note 2
The parties note that the training agreement or contract will require an apprentice to be to employed for sufficient hours to complete all requirements of the apprenticeship, including the on-the-job work experience and demonstration of competencies. The parties also note that this would normally mean that an apprentice would average a minimum of fifteen hours on-the-job work per week, averaged across the period of the apprenticeship.
17.2.8 Part-time apprentices shall progress through the wage scale at the rate of twelve months progression on the basis of the table below:
Part-time apprenticeship duration specified in the apprenticeship agreement |
Period of employment to achieve twelve months wages progression |
5 years |
15 months |
6 years |
18 months |
17.2.9 These rates are based on a standard full-time apprenticeship of four years. The rates of progression reflect the average rate of skill acquisition expected from the typical combination of work and training for a part-time apprentice undertaking the applicable apprenticeship.
17.2.10 Provided that part-time apprentices undertaking the apprenticeship while at school shall progress through the age scale at the rate of twelve months progression for each two years as a part-time apprentice whilst at school. On leaving school if the apprentice continues part-time, the rate of progression through the wage scale shall be at the rate of twelve months progression for each fifteen months of employment as a part-time apprentice.
17.2.11 Where an apprentice converts from part-time to full-time, all time spent as a full-time apprentice shall count for the purposes of progression through the wage scale. This progression shall apply in addition to the progression achieved as a part-time apprentice.
17.2.12 Part-time apprentices shall be entitled to all the conditions of part-time employees under this award.
