Trainees
A trainee is an employee who is working towards a qualification (other than a trade qualification) in a particular industry under a formal training contract.
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Trainees get many of the same minimum entitlements as other employees. These are the minimum entitlements under the National Employment Standards and include annual leave, sick leave, public holidays and breaks.
Most trainees get their conditions and entitlements, including pay rates from Schedule E in the Miscellaneous Award. Their award or registered agreement may contain other entitlements like payment for time spent at training.
For more information, watch our apprenticeships and traineeships video.
Check your award or agreement
Use our industry filter for award specific entitlements for trainees. Not sure what award applies? Use our Find my award tool.
Find Enterprise agreements and other registered agreements at Fair Work Commission website – Find an agreement.
Training costs and fees
Some awards set out rules and entitlements for training contracts and payment for training fees. If the award doesn’t cover this, it will depend on what was agreed to by the employer and the employee in the training contract.
Some awards say that employers are required to pay for training fees charged by the trainee’s Registered Training Organisation. They can include:
- course fees
- the cost of course required textbooks
- the cost of assessment materials.
There are some exceptions to this. To understand more about training costs and fees, read our Library article - Trainee’s training costs.
Find award specific entitlements
Find information about trainee entitlements in a specific award by selecting from the list of industries below.
If an award isn't listed, use our List of awards to access the one that applies.
