The Premium Debate: Subscribers weigh in on ‘rife’ tradie poaching

Tradie apprentices who have a couple of years of experience under their belt are being poached by other companies. Photo / 123RF

Opinion

OPINION

A trades leader has called out employers poaching apprentices for others, describing the practice as “rife” and not “ethical”. One business told NZME it had lost four apprentices in about six weeks and its staff were being “groomed” and quizzed by other tradies at its local supply store. Industry leaders shared their concerns at the antics saying losing an apprentice after two years means “you don’t get the payback”.

Read the full story here: New Zealand apprentices being poached and groomed to move employers - trades leader

Have your say by going to bayofplentytimes.co.nz and becoming a Premium subscriber.

We have created a market where those who train and invest in upskilling their staff are at a competitive disadvantage due to the time and money they invest. Either the Govt needs to do more to subsidise the training or the apprentices could be bonded for a set period of time?

- Welly G

Register an apprenticeship to a certain employer and can be transferred only if need warrants it, ie moving area or personal circumstances.

- Brian D

This is common in many industries, not just the trades. In secondary teaching physics and mathematics, graduates are lured to wealthier state and private schools. Meanwhile poorer state NZ schools struggle ... Private medicine also poaches nurses and clerical staff from our hospitals. It is rife in hospitality too. Perhaps we need to pay proper salaries/wages to counter this insidious behaviour.

- Kevin B

If they’re moving for $0.50-$1 then stump up the difference and keep your apprentice, inflation is hurting everyone, even apprentices need to eat.

- David W

I can complete a law degree two years faster than this apprenticeship lark. It simply cannot take five years to learn how to do these things.

- Marcus A

I had a job done by a company. Two staff on site. A qualified sparky and an apprentice. My bill was $85 per hour for the sparky and $45 per hour for the apprentice. I expect that the sparky gets paid around $38 per hour while the apprentice might be on $24 per hour. So after paying his staff the company was earning around $68 per hour + the markup on the gear they installed which I understand to be 30 per cent. It annoys me to hear business owners say there is no payback from an apprentice until they are qualified. That is just untrue. No company would train an apprentice if it didn’t pay off. Maybe apprentices move to other businesses for better money? Why wouldn’t they?

- Peter O

I am a self-employed tradie and have over the years employed many apprentices. The comments here that go on about how much money employers are making out of apprentices are garbage. Until you have run a business and hired apprentices then with all due respect you have [no] idea of how it works, as much as you think you may. There used to be a thing called loyalty that unfortunately has gone. It’s obviously not just apprentices at fault here but also the fault of the companies that are doing the poaching, more so in fact. But be warned, with the economy going down and the building boom coming to an end there will be apprentices out there soon that will be just grateful they are employed. Therein lies the problem. Short-sightedness from both some apprentices and some employers.

- Steve M

If the organisation providing apprenticeship is paying the apprentice and bearing the cost of their training/apprenticeship then they could make the apprentice sign a bond to work for them for a certain period depending on the apprenticeship period.

- John B

- Republished comments may be edited at the editor’s discretion.

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