Page 34 - Print21 May-June 2020

Business Intelligence
How do I find a good apprentice? David Galbraith, senior recruitment consultant at JDA Print Recruitment (VIC), says there’s
a series of simple steps that will ensure you attract the most suitable young people out there.
Many people are put off by the thought
of finding an apprentice. Everyone seems to have a
horror story about their recruitment search, or the apprentice from hell. Fortunately, this isn’t the norm,
but it does happen. To avoid an
HR mishap, here is some advice, gleaned from the Future Print Apprenticeship project, that may be helpful when recruiting.
Candidate search tips
When looking for a candidate, start with an advertisement using traditional advertising channels, including Seek, Indeed, local newspapers, and community noticeboards.
You can also participate in local secondary school career nights and career expos to raise awareness of printing industry apprenticeships and careers – offer to conduct school tours of your business to interested Year 10 students.
Ask your staff, friends, and suppliers if they know of any school leavers interested in an apprenticeship. Design a flyer for your vacancy and hand it out.
Put up the flyer at work – your next apprentice may already be working for you. Don’t discount mature age candidates either
– they usually have life skills, experience, and knowledge you will benefit from.
Tap into your local sporting club connections. Speak to the office bearers and coaches about potential apprentices.
Speak to the local training provider or an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider and see if they have anyone on their books looking for an apprenticeship.
Finally, there have been apprentices let go by companies due to the coronavirus pandemic. You could contact the National Apprentice Employment Network to see if there’s someone you could re-employ.
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“There have been apprentices let go by companies due to the pandemic... contact the National Apprentice Employment Network to see if there’s someone you could re-employ.”
Resumé relevance
Most school leavers don’t have an extensive resumé with years of relevant experience. In seeking the right fit for your business, here are a few important items to look out for:
Participation in a sporting team – Besides leading to better workplace participation, this usually means they know the value of hard work to get ahead; understand the
need to work as a team; may have had leadership opportunities; have learned to be respectful of authority and hierarchy; recognise the value of ethnic diversity; and will strive to succeed.
Play a musical instrument – Akin
to sporting team participation, this candidate would likely know the importance of practising to improve; value working in harmony as a
Bright: young people are
out there and looking for interesting careers like print
group; and demonstrate the ability for complex learning along with good hand-eye co-ordination.
Work in a multi-national fast
food business – Making fast food products can be repetitive and requires following stringent processes to ensure quality and consistency. This ensures products are produced efficiently to the required standard with low waste, and with a focus on work safety. Sound familiar? Success in a fast food environment does translate into a printing environment.
Volunteering – This provides more of an insight into the character of an individual, but can demonstrate a more caring and altruistic personality.
Hobbies – Look for activities that may translate into possessing a mechanical aptitude or need good hand-eye co-ordination, such as construction, woodwork, fixing broken mechanical items, and building with science kits.
Some last thoughts
If you’re serious about taking on an apprentice, consider whether your workplace is easily accessible by public transport, bearing in mind some school leavers may not have their own transport yet. Another limitation may be whether public transport operates around the shift times you require.
Finally, consider offering a
work trial. Pay the candidate apprenticeship wages for working apprenticeship hours, doing apprenticeship tasks. Review the arrangement after a week and if it’s working for them and for you, and if they’re still keen to proceed, you might have found a match.
JDA Print Recruitment offers apprenticeship recruitment for no fee. Visit www.jdaprintrecruit.com.au 21