Desperate parents are turning to cash incentives in order to ‘buy’ their kids an apprenticeship

DESPERATE Gold Coast parents are offering cash kickbacks in vain attempts to buy their children’s entry into sought-after apprenticeships.

Desperate Gold Coast parents are offering cash kickbacks in an attempt to buy their children valuable apprenticeship positions.

DESPERATE Gold Coast parents are offering cash kickbacks in vain attempts to buy their children’s entry into sought-after apprenticeships.

Parents, particularly of children aged over 20, are offering the kickback in efforts to secure a position in the increasingly lucrative trades fields.

It comes as the Gold Coast is facing a severe shortage in tradies which could send hourly rates from jobs like electricians, plumbers and carpenters through the roof.

To become an apprentice, the person first needs an employer who agrees to provide on-the-job training while the applicant continues to work and get paid.

The apprenticeship applicant and the employer will enter into an agreement that must be registered with the state apprenticeship authority

Gary Mays, who owns northern Gold Coast plumbing group Whywait Plumbing, said he was approached on a regular basis by parents looking to pay for part of their childrens training in a bid to obtain a coveted apprenticeship position.

Whywait Plumbing owner Gary Mays said he was regularly approached by parents offering bribes to get their children into an apprenticeship.

“It happened recently and I get an approach every couple of months,” he said.

Other tradies approached by the Sun confirmed the offers.

Mr Mays said the practice was particularly rife when it came to people aged over 20.

“Where I’ve seen it most is in the case of older apprentices,” he said.

“They can find it particularly hard to find a position as their starting wage will be up to 90 per cent of a tradesman’s wage.”

Adult apprentices are entitled to a Federal Government initiative called Support for Adult Apprentices.

Older workers struggle to gain entry to apprenticeships as their salary is 90 per cent that of a fully-qualified tradesman.

Eligible adults are entitled to supplement payments either directly to the applicant, or to their employer to subsidise slightly higher wages. The payment is set at $150 per week for the first year (up to a maximum of $7,800 per annum) and $100 per week in the second year (up to a maximum of $5,200 per annum).

There are rates for part-time apprentices, while employers are entitled to a one off payment of $4,000 at the end of the first year.

However some parents were prepared to provided even more financial incentives to assist their children in gaining apprenticeships.

“I was approached by a father who was prepared to pay for their child to go to TAFE and their holidays,” Mr Mays said.

“If I hire an apprentice I’m legally obliged to pay for those but parents believe if they can take away some of the pain of the cost they can score an apprenticeship.

“But those things will always come back and bite you.”

He said it was coming at a time when there was a shortage of qualified tradies in many fields.

“It’s a massive problem and it’s only going to get worse. Kids are being encouraged to go to university and no one is going into trades any more.

“I’ve got a truck sitting empty because we can’t find someone to work it and I know of people in Brisbane with 10 trucks sitting empty.”