Supervising Trainees

Employing trainees and apprentices provides benefits to both the employer and the trainee. Working on the land fosters strong ties to rural life, environmental stewardship, and local communities and by offering traineeships it can encourage young people to stay in or move to rural areas, helping to combat skill shortages in agriculture.

However, it should always be recognised that trainees and apprentices are learning on the job and should be properly supervised to ensure that they are actually competent before you ask  them to do a task without supervision.

In a recent case in the Supreme Court of Victoria an employer was fined $300,000 after an apprentice electrician was sent on a job and failed to provide the apprentice with the necessary supervision to ensure they could work safely and without risks to health. The apprentice was the son of the employer and died on the scene.

A WorkSafe investigation revealed that the apprentice had been attending after-hours callouts on his own and performing the work of a licensed electrician without supervision for at least a year before his death.

It was reasonably practicable for the employer to have provided the apprentice with supervision by a qualified electrician in accordance with the regulations.

Investigators also discovered that two other workers employed by Nordic Elevator Services would often perform electrical work despite not being licenced electricians.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety said “Apprentices depend on their employers to set them up for the future – not only with on-the-job training, but also by keeping them safe from hazards they are likely to encounter in their role”.

If you employ an apprentice or trainee you have the responsibility of ensuring their safety, don’t put them at risk by having them work without the proper training in the tasks you require performed or without supervision.