Planning Career Paths for Your Apprentices

For Employers

Apprentices stay engaged when they can see where the job leads. This guide sets out a simple process for talking about goals, mapping skills and checking progress, written for the businesses that host them.

Planning Career Paths for Your Apprentices

Key Takeaways

Planning career paths for your apprentices starts with a conversation about what they want, not a template.
Write down a few short-term and long-term goals and review them on a regular schedule.
Link each goal to a skill, a task at work and a point in the training plan.
Pair the apprentice with a mentor and give feedback often, in small amounts.
Judge whether the plan works by what you can see: skills gained, confidence and whether the apprentice wants to stay.

Introduction

Planning career paths for your apprentices means working out, together, which skills they need and what they could be doing in a few years. It gives the apprenticeship a direction beyond the next task or the next study block. Apprentices who can see where the job leads are more likely to stay engaged with the work and the training.

You do not need a formal HR system to do this. A short conversation, a page of notes and a regular check-in are enough for most small and medium businesses. If you use a group training organisation like Future1st, your field officer can also help you monitor the progress of your apprentices.

Start With an Honest Conversation

Ask the apprentice what they want to do. Some will have a clear idea. Others will only know that they like working with their hands or dealing with customers.

Ask what parts of the job they enjoy and which they find hard.
Ask whether they see themselves staying in the trade, specialising or moving into supervision.
Listen first. If you talk through the whole meeting, you will not find out what they think.

Do not treat the first answer as final. Plans change as apprentices learn what the work involves, so revisit the conversation every few months.

Set Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

Goals give the plan something to measure against. Keep them specific enough to check.

Short-term goals: learn to use a particular tool or process, finish a unit of study, or handle a task without supervision.
Long-term goals: finish the qualification, take on a more senior role, or build a specialty such as a type of work your business wants to grow.

Write them down and share them with the apprentice. Our guide on how to set clear goals for your apprentices has more on wording them well.

Map the Skills They Need

For each goal, work out what skills it requires and where the apprentice can practise them.

Hands-on practice on real jobs, starting with simple tasks and building up.
Off-the-job training through the registered training organisation.
Shadowing someone more experienced for tasks the apprentice has not done before.

Compare the list against the training plan so work and study point the same way. If the apprentice is studying a topic they never see at work, find a task that uses it. If they do a task at work that is not in the training plan, tell the trainer.

Give Feedback and Mark Progress

Feedback is the part of career planning that happens every week. It does not need to be formal.

Say what went well and what to change, soon after the task.
Ask the apprentice how they think it went before you tell them.
Note down milestones, such as a first solo job or a completed unit, and acknowledge them.

Recognising progress keeps motivation up. For ideas on keeping good apprentices, see strategies to retain your apprentices.

Build Support Around the Plan

A plan on paper is only useful if the apprentice has support to follow it.

Name a Mentor

Choose someone experienced who is willing to explain things and answer questions. The mentor does not have to be the owner, but the apprentice should know who to ask.

Keep Communication Open

Make it easy to raise problems. Apprentices who worry about looking incompetent will hide mistakes. Set a regular time to talk so they do not have to interrupt a busy day.

Offer Different Ways to Learn

People learn differently. Mix hands-on work, instruction and reading. If one approach is not working, try another.

Balance Work and Training

Both parts of an apprenticeship need time. Too much work and the study slips. Too much study and the apprentice misses practice.

Put training and assessment dates in the shared calendar early.
Roster around study release rather than treating it as an interruption.
Where possible, give work that relates to what they are currently studying.

If the apprentice is falling behind, ask early. A small gap in training is easier to fix than a large one. For more on setting up their development, read how to develop a career development plan for trainees and strategies for nurturing talent in trainees.

Mistakes to Avoid

Overloading the apprentice with tasks that do not match their level.
Using the same plan for every apprentice. Each one has different goals.
Skipping check-ins because the business is busy.
Making promises about promotion or pay that you cannot keep.

How to Tell if the Plan Is Working

You do not need complex metrics. Look for signs you can observe.

The apprentice can do tasks now that they could not do before.
They are keeping up with study and assessments.
They ask good questions and take responsibility for their work.
They tell you they want to stay and grow with the business.

Review the plan after each major milestone, and update it when the apprentice's goals or the business's needs change.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I review an apprentice's career plan?

Check in briefly every few weeks and do a fuller review after each major milestone, such as the end of a stage of study. Update the plan when their goals change.

Who should be the apprentice's mentor?

Someone experienced who has time to explain things and is happy to answer questions. It does not have to be the business owner.

Do I need a written plan?

A short written plan helps both of you remember what was agreed. One page of goals, skills and review dates is enough.

What if the apprentice does not know what they want to do?

That is common. Start with what they enjoy, give them varied work and revisit the question as they gain experience.

Who can help if I am unsure how an apprentice is going?

If you host an apprentice through Future1st, call us on (03) 9656 9797. Field officers visit workplaces and training institutes to monitor progress.

Give Your Apprentices a Direction

A clear plan helps apprentices stay engaged and helps your business build skills it needs. If you are ready to take on an apprentice, hire an apprentice with Future1st or call (03) 9656 9797 to talk it over.

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