Stories

Learn more from apprentices and employers who have been through an Australian Apprenticeship.

On this page, we will present experiences and stories from apprentices and employers who have taken the tough step of entering an apprenticeship. Their experiences will assist with progressing in your apprenticehip.

If you have a story you would like to add, please email us on the Contact page.

Harry's Story

Harry was a young carpenter’s apprentice who had recently started work with a building firm that worked mostly in the Sydney City and the Eastern suburbs. At about 3 months into his apprenticeship Harry was having doubts as to whether he would be able to stick with it. He was finding the trip to and from work, an hour and a half journey on public transport, hard to afford and exhausting compared to the bus trip to and from school that he was used to.

Harry met with his Kickstart Mentor at a workplace he was working on in the City. He let his mentor know how he was feeling about his apprenticeship and about how he had thought of dropping out. Harry’s mentor was able to talk to him about the benefits of completing an apprenticeship and the opportunities he would have once he had completed his time as an apprentice. His mentor also discovered that Harry had not realised that he was entitled to a travel concession card that would make a huge difference to his travel costs or that he had not received his initial Tools for Your Trade payment or his Gear Up Allowance payment that both added up to a $1000 he was entitled to.

After following up with Harry’s Business Consultant and the administration team at MAS National, Harry’s mentor was able to provide Harry with application papers for his concession card and amendment papers so that he could receive his incentive payments.

Harry’s mentor keeps in contact with him every week through phone call and SMS to see how his apprenticeship is going and to offer words of encouragement and advice to him. Harry is still working well towards finishing his apprenticeship and is looking forward to becoming a qualified tradesman and one day running his own carpentry service.

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David's Story

David was a young first year apprentice chef with a passion for cooking. He lived in a rural area of NSW in a town that was pretty remote. David was struggling with his apprenticeship and was considering leaving it.

David’s main concern was that he had had a high turnover of head chefs in his first 3 months of his apprenticeship with each one asking for work to be done in different ways and each one allowing him different levels of responsibility. David was also concerned that he wasn’t being treated fairly in the kitchen and that he was intimidated out of talking about this to his head chef.

David was also concerned that his apprenticeship might not open up enough doors for him once he had finished, as he was unsure of the industry outside of his small town and the range of possibilities in the hospitality industry.

David met with his Kickstart mentor at his place of work and told him of the concerns he had about his apprenticeship. His mentor, who had experience in the hospitality sector, was able to share his experiences in kitchens and restaurants with David and assured him that, as he was working in a respected restaurant, that things would eventually settle and that a permanent head chef would be found. His mentor was also able to give David advice on how best to talk to his head chef and when was the best time to do this.

David is still happily working as an apprentice chef with a head chef who is now there on a permanent basis. His mentor keeps in touch with him regularly through phone calls and text messages to see how he is going and offer advice and information on his apprenticeship. His mentor is also able to email David with examples of exciting restaurants in Sydney and all around Australia and the world that his Chef’s apprenticeship could lead him to once he finishes.

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Kickstart Hotline

Contact Number

1800 KSTART (1800 578 278)

Hours Available

Monday to Friday between
8:00am – 8:00pm