We have a team of authorised officers who investigate and confirm that employers, apprentices and trainees are meeting their training contract obligations.
Some of the issues authorised officers will investigate include training, supervision, work environment and scope of work.
Authorised officers can:
- enter a workplace
- make enquiries
- inspect and copy documents.
They can also investigate a training contract matter raised by an employer, apprentice or trainee.
Employers must provide copies of any documents that an authorised officer requests.
What to expect from a check-in
Authorised officers call apprentices and trainees to make sure they have what they need to complete their apprenticeships and traineeships.
They may want to find out how an apprenticeship or traineeship is progressing. They will call an apprentice or trainee for a check-in.
The call will only take a few minutes. The authorised officer will ask a few questions about the workplace and employer.
What to expect from an onsite visit
An authorised officer might make an onsite visit to a workplace. You may be notified of the visit or they may show up unannounced.
An onsite visit could happen because of:
- a routine visit
- a regulatory campaign focusing on an industry
- a problem reported to us about a training contract
- there is a dispute between an employer and an apprentice or trainee about their training contract.
Authorised officers will show an ID card when they visit your workplace.
They will talk with the employer, apprentices, or trainees. They may also provide general assistance if there are any problems to discuss.
Employers should have a copy of the latest training plan ready. The training plan helps the authorised officer check progress in the apprenticeship or traineeship. You might need to contact the registered training organisation for a copy of the training plan.
In most cases, everyone is meeting their obligations under the training contract.
The authorised officer reports any non-compliance to us so we can decide what to do next.
How they can help
Our authorised officers can help when there is an issue between an apprentice or trainee and their employer.
They will investigate problems and come up with a resolution when they can.
Sometimes, they can also help fix common issues affecting other apprentices and trainees at the same workplace.
They will gather evidence if we need to decide how to resolve a dispute.
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