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Alright, so you’re looking at doing an Apprenticeship, but you’ve got a few important, unresolved issues, mainly: “Show me the money!” Sometimes all you want to know is how much you’re going to get paid. Differences in your compensation will obviously be affected by what field you do your apprenticeship in.  However, the general rule of apprentice compensation is, the more skilled you become, the more money you earn.  Usually apprentices are paid based on how long they’ve been in their apprenticeship.

For example a person in their 1st year of a 4-year apprenticeship could earn 50% of a relevant worker’s adult wage, whereas a person in their 2nd year could earn 70% of relevant worker’s adult wage.

But you may now be asking yourself: What’s a “relevant worker’s adult wage”?  In basic terms, a relevant worker’s adult wage is someone already working in the profession you’re completing your apprenticeship in.  This “relevant worker’s” wage is usually determined by modern awards, or an agreed upon minimum wage, determined by industry standards, workers unions, and government regulations.

While you may be eager to see how much you will earn from apprentice wages, unfortunately, it’s not as simple as you would’ve hoped.  You may have to do a little bit of research, studying the industry you’re entering to determine what you’ll earn.

Basics on how to calculate your wage:

1. Identify the relevant adult wage rate under the modern award.
2. Identify the percentage of the adult wage rate that the employee is entitled to in the modern award.
3. Apply the percentage in the modern award to the adult wage rate in the modern award to calculate the flat dollar wage rate.

If you’re looking for a greater understanding regarding apprenticeship wages Fairwork.gov.au is a great place to stay updated on the current laws regarding apprenticeship & trainee compensation.

Doing an apprenticeship is no easy task, and you may have to forgo the luxury of being compensated fully until you’ve completed your training. But it’s important to remember that there’s light at the end of that tunnel, completing your apprenticeship gives you the skills and training to become an accomplished and successful professional.

image by Stewf