At Electrical Group Training (EGT) they’ve learned if you can take the additional cost of a mature age apprentice away from the host employer – these apprentices will be chosen every time!
The Electrotechnology Training Institute Limited in WA has multiple business units including EGT the Group Training Organisation (GTO) which has been running since 1988 and the Registered Training Organisation (RTO) the College of Electrical Training (CET). CET has been running since 1998 and is currently training 2300 apprentices at two Perth campuses – 530 of whom are EGT apprentices. All students are doing their Certificate III in Electrotechnology.
Host employers can commit to an apprentice anywhere from a few weeks to four years from EGT. The model means apprentices get a mix of training in different workplaces and industry areas – with a great variety of skills at the end of their apprenticeship. The average EGT apprentice will have been trained at between 5-7 organisations through their four-year apprenticeship.
“We’ve had funding for adult apprentices which has really helped us get these candidates up and running,” explains Stuart Diepeveen, General Manager at EGT.
“This means we can pay the additional normal time wages for the mature aged apprentice that the employer is normally expected to cover. Small businesses, for example, won’t take on adult apprentices because they are just too expensive.
“But if they are offered school leavers or adults at the same price – they’ll choose the adults every time.”
This has been particularly useful for women apprentices, around half of which are mature age at EGT.
The financial support for adult apprentices is good news, especially in a growing market. WA expects to have around 6,000 apprentices by the end of FY27, and 7,000 by FY29.
But a growing demand comes at a cost. EGT has had up to a six-month waiting list to start an apprenticeship, with around 60 people waiting to start in May 2025.
“We like to keep people moving and this is probably the longest the wait has been for some time,” explains Stuart Diepeveen.
“But there is a lot of work for us to do. For every four applicants we get, only one is suitable to take on. That might be because of their maths competency, or they don’t pass the hand skills assessment we carry out to see what they are like using tools. We always recommend people do work experience before they come in. It’s good to give yourself the best chance of being picked to work and train here.”
Organisations like EGT and CET are expanding to accommodate for this growing interest in the trade.
