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Traineeships for Pest Controllers and How to Access Them

traineeship

Many employers would like their employees to do a pest control traineeship but have little idea how they work or how to access the funding to support them. This means they could be missing out on a wonderful opportunity to upskill their team members and drive their business forward.

We spoke to Kerrie Undery, Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Manager for Rapid Training, to find out more. Rapid Training was set up in Australia in 1999 as a registered training organisation to help new starters in the pest industry by providing access to quality accredited training and support.

For several years now Kerrie has managed Rapid Training’s operations, supporting and monitoring students to ensure they not only gain their pest control qualification but are well placed to start up or grow their business with all the relevant skills and knowledge.  

Kerrie Undery, Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Manager for Rapid Training talks to us about pest control traineeships

Hi Kerrie. Can You Tell Us A Bit About Pest Control Traineeships And Who They’re Targeted At?

Traineeships are a way for an employee to upskill and gain accreditations in a particular industry, such as pest control. They’re usually targeted at new employees – people who are coming into the business. Employers access traineeship incentives to subsidise the cost of training for a new employee.

How Does A Pest Control Traineeship Work?

A traineeship is a contract with the federal government that is administered by an apprenticeship centre in Australia. There are many different apprenticeship centres in each state, and they facilitate that contract between the employer, student, and the government. Rapid Training, as the nominated RTO, will support the contract by delivering the accredited training.

Our professional blended course delivery sees students enjoy easy, flexible learning at their own pace, with expert trainers available anytime for assistance. By blended I mean the training is done online, supported by onsite activity with the employer.

How Is A Traineeship Assessed?

Traineeships are competency-based assessments – so basically what we’re looking for is that the student can competently apply the knowledge and demonstrate the skills consistently and over time. As the RTO, to sign off on a student’s competence we need to see that those skills can be applied in the same format with the same level of accuracy each time.

Someone writing in a book with their pen hovering over the page, perhaps they're studying for a pest control traineeship.

Why Is A Pest Control Traineeship Beneficial For Students?

For students it’s a valuable way to help them get their accreditation. They get access to not only training on the job but supported training from the RTO. They’re getting both formal and informal training that will support their future as a pest controller.

This blend of formal and informal training allows the student to learn the relevant industry and role-specific information and skills with the RTO and then go to their employer and apply those skills. They enjoy the theoretical knowledge of the skillset paired with the actual application, which helps with the retention of knowledge.

It’s not only new employees that can benefit from training. Anyone can upskill themselves with a traineeship or any of our Rapid Training courses. (Find out how to optimise your downtime with training)

And For Their Employers?

Traineeships give employers access to potential government financial incentives to help their business. They also help employers gain an employee who will learn their business their way. Traineeships have demonstrated over many years and across all industries to improve staff motivation, engagement, and retention, as well as increasing productivity and skills in the workplace.

How Can People Access Funding For A Pest Control Traineeship?

There are many ways to access funding. A potential student can talk to the RTO and they’ll be able to put them in contact with an apprenticeship centre that can help them access that funding.

The apprenticeship centre will then have that conversation with the student and their employer and go through what the contract entails. These contracts are usually between 18 and 24 months in duration and are rescinded if either party pulls out. So, for instance, if you leave the employer’s service while you’re in a contract with them the agreement would end.

The contract puts the responsibility on the student to complete the work. But it also puts responsibility on the employer to allow the student time off the job to finish their studies. It effectively formalises the training agreement for both parties.

The benefit to the employer is that they can access funding to pay course fees, which minimises their out-of-pocket expenses.

Will The Government Provide Funding For Rapid Training Courses?

The federal government doesn’t pay Rapid Training the traineeship incentives or any other subsidies. They pay all incentives through the apprenticeship centre, directly to the employer.

However, there are state funding contracts that RTOs can source to access direct funding to help further subsidise accredited training. For instance, in NSW, Rapid Training has a Smart & Skilled funding contract with the government. This means, for an eligible NSW trainee, not only can the employer access their federal incentive, but the state government will also subsidise the RTO’s course fees.

So, in the end the employer will pay zero fees.

A keyboard button labeled 'pest control.' Pest control traineeships can be useful to employers and employees

Are There Other Incentives Employers Can Access?

Traineeships are one of the most well-known ways employers can gain incentives to skill up their employees, or themselves. But it is always recommended to speak to the apprenticeship centre. The government often announces ongoing initiatives to help businesses fund training and development in the workforce. They’re constantly changing these funding programmes, and the apprenticeships centres have the most current information on-hand.

There are many incentives that people may not know about, I recommend contacting your apprenticeship centre today to see what subsidies your business could qualify for.

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Speaking of keeping yourself updated, perhaps you should find out what’s happening at Pesticon this year. Read all about it in our Pesticon 2022 interview with our CEO Belinda Smith.

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