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Training apprentices helps you and your company to effectively deal with skill shortages or high staff turnovers. As they can help you stay ahead of the competition you should think how you and your apprentice can get the most out of  training. We have collected some general tips to help you get the most out of your apprentices:

1. Ensure a safe working environment! Health and safety at work is vital as it is your duty as an employer to make sure that the workplace is free from possible hazards and all regulations are fulfilled.  Ensure that your apprentices are introduced into all safety regulations, especially occupational health and safety training at the workplace.
2. Foster good working relations with other colleagues! Take care that new apprentices are introduced and welcomed to the staff. Later on try to be a mediator if employees have trouble with each other. You should also think about team building measures, these could be professional seminars or simply some social after work activities.
3. Give effective supervision and assign a mentor! Apprentices need appropriate levels of supervision. Nominate a workplace supervisor and assign a mentor to the apprentice who has a personal interest in his development, who can communicate well and is a good role model. Show ongoing interest about his training efforts!
4. Be a motivator! Being a good boss means you are able to motivate your apprentices. There are plenty of ways like rewards, incentives and recognition.  Keep in mind that everybody reacts differently on criticism and praises, but a good rule of thumb to follow is that praises should be done in public while it is better to keep criticism in private.
5. Have an open ear and be a communicator! Communication is always a two way process and an important aspect of supporting your apprentices is listening, addressing and reacting to their problems and questions. Also be open to their feedback and criticism. Creating strong internal communication helps you to fix problems as they come up.
6. Find the balance between being fun and authoritative. It’s generally a good idea to show your funny side (as far as it exists) and joke around with your apprentices but sometimes it’s better to wait for that time after work. Once at the workplace you should be professional and exercise your authority to ensure everybody works in a similar professional manner.
7. Practice what you preach and set a good example: arrive at work on time, do a good job and don’t get distracted by personal problems.
8. Find the right apprentices for your company. Now that the Australian industry is again facing massive skill shortages finding an apprentice that suits to the job and your company is a crucial challenge. Group training organisations like apprenticepower help you to connect with the talents of tomorrow.

Image by KumarAppaiah.