AN170120 – Metal and Engineering Industry Award
The terms and conditions of apprenticeship shall be in accordance with those prescribed in the Vocational Education and Training Act 1994 and Regulations made thereto as administered by the Tasmanian State Training Authority.
(a) Provided the qualification outcome specified in the Training Agreement is consistent with that established for apprenticeship in the trade training package determined from time to time by the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Industry Training Advisory Body (MERSITAB) and endorsed by the National Training Framework Committee or is consistent with the electrical trades qualification established for apprenticeship from within a Utilities ITAB Training Package endorsed by the National Training Framework Committee.
(b) An apprenticeship may be undertaken in any of the following trades:
(i) Engineering Tradesperson (Mechanical);
(ii) Engineering Tradesperson (Fabrication);
(iii) Engineering Tradesperson (Electrical/Electronic);
(iv) Higher Engineering Tradesperson.
For the trade of Higher Engineering Tradesperson the following will apply:
(1) the period of the apprenticeship will be four years or such other period as is approved by the State Training Authority on the basis of an approved compentency based training program.
(2) Apprentices in their first, second and third years are to be paid at a rate equivalent to that applying to an apprentice engineering tradesperson.
(3) Apprentice higher engineering tradespersons in their fourth year are to be paid a rate of 88% of the Level C9 rate.
(4) The classification on completion of apprenticeship will be as a minimum Level C7. Where the apprentice is offered employment at the completion of their apprenticeship and such employment is in the area of the apprenticeship training, such that they are exercising or will be required to exercise the skills and knowledge gained during their apprenticeship necessary for a Level C9 they shall be classified at Level C9.
(5) The training program for each apprentice is to be consistent with the minimum training requirement for the classification of Level C9 special class tradesperson.
(c) (i) Subject to (c)(ii) the period of apprenticeship shall be four years.
(ii) The period may be varied with the approval of the State Training Authority provided that any credits granted shall be counted as part of the apprenticeship for the purpose of wage progression under paragraph (d).
(iii) Further, the period may be varied to such other period as is approved by the State Training Authority on the basis of an approved competency based training program.
(iv) The wage rates mentioned in paragraph (d) may be varied with the approval of the relevant parties to this award according to the apprentice affected, and the State Training Authority to allow for progression between wage levels based on the gaining of agreed competencies instead of the year of the apprenticeships. For example the appropriate proportion of the minimum training requirement associated with the year of the apprenticeship could only be used to identify progression from one percentage rate to the next.
(d) The minimum weekly wage rates for all apprentices subject to this award shall be the undermentioned percentages of the Weekly Wage Rate for Level C10, Engineering Tradesperson – Level 1 adjusted to the nearest 10 cents:
Years of Age |
% |
First Year apprentice |
42 |
Second Year apprentice |
55 |
Third Year apprentice |
75 |
Fourth Year apprentice |
88 |
PROVIDED that an employee who is under 21 years of age on the expiration of his apprenticeship and thereafter works as a minor in the occupation to which he has been apprenticed shall be paid not less than the adult rate prescribed for that classification.
(e) All entitlements prescribed in this award as conditions of employment applying to other classes of employees shall likewise apply to apprentices.
