Most school leavers only look in the paper, or on the web, but these are far from the best places to secure an Apprenticeship or Traineeship. Its often quoted that 80% of the jobs are not advertised...

The challenge then is to somehow find the apprenticeship opportunities... the following attachment lists 21 Ways to Find an Apprenticeship (or Traineeship).

We have also added a little graphic with our estimate of how successful these strategies have been for local school leavers.

The graphs are only a rough guide, and how successful you are could vary depending upon the job market in your chosen trade and suburb, the time of year you are looking and of course how you compare to the other applicants. Luck plays a part too, but far more important will be your effort, technique and persistence.

Remember that big employers often start taking applications in May or June for the following year's intake.  Waiting til after schoolies or Xmas holidays is typically too late.

Another huge mistake often made by school leavers is to only apply to one place, and then wait to see if they are successful. We strongly recommend you actively pursue as many strategies and applications as you can manage to squeeze in to your day, every day.

And finally make sure every application is customised for the job and delivered with enthusiasm.

Best wishes.

21waystofindanapprenticeship (PDF, 179KB)