Apprenticeships used to be a fantastic way to have a mentoring system which was both rewarding to the apprentice and eventually to the employer at the same time.

An apprenticeship involves an investment in time on both parts, and it is a usual expectation that this apprenticeship would last around two years.

Taking on an apprentice is usually hard work at the start, as it involves generally young people who have yet to develop their work ethics, to understand the work involved and interpersonal skills required for the workplace.

Minimum wages combined with the Employment Act mean that the risk to the employer can be quite onerous.

Minimum Annual Holidays, mean that a kid straight out of school, is going to get 20 days annual paid leave, 13 public holidays, up to 10 days sick and other leave...

To make offering apprenticeships attractive needs to have a shift in these rules and propose the following

Create an apprenticeship tribunal who quickly develop a deep understanding of the conditions of apprenticeship, and are apble to share those understandings with each other

Reduce the minimum wage to 60% for apprentices

Reduce annual leave, to 3 weeks, up to age of 25 years old

Give access to specific tertiary training possibilities to businesses formally round out the apprenticeship so that the apprentice ends up not only with specific experience, but paperwork that backs up the platform for that experience

This will add to much needed skill bases that the country needs, and take the large experience of those who are able to pass on valuable knowledge to the younger generations, which might otherwise be lost