$ 200m plan to keep Gen Y apprentices at work

Ethics test for job hopefuls

FUTURE Gen Y jobseekers will sit a formal test to gauge their work ethic, skills and job readiness before they are approved for an apprenticeship.

The performance test will weed out unsuitable applicants and help arrest the shocking apprenticeship dropout rate of 50 per cent in vital trades.

It will assess the attitude of young workers in key workplace disciplines, including punctuality, how they dress, communicate and handle conflict.

Job seekers’ teamwork and organisational skills also will be tested along with how they present, including their behaviour on social media.

Despite earning up to $ 71,000 in some trades, more than half of apprentices fail to stay the course every year, at huge cost to employers and taxpayers.

The new test, devised by experts in organisational psychology and recruitment for the Federal Government- funded Apprenticeship Support Australia group, covers more than 300,000 apprentices.

It will not be mandatory but job applicants who have failed to complete it are unlikely to be awarded an apprenticeship.

The test is being hailed by industry leaders as a potential “game- changer”.

It follows revelations that desperate bosses are enrolling their Gen Y workers in training courses to improve their skills and stop them from quitting.

From text message “sickies” to poor communication skills, Gen Y’s approach to employment has been a constant frustration for many employers.

Apprenticeship Support Australia managing director Darren Cocks said: “The job- fit test is part of a front- end approach to apprenticeship recruitment that focuses on assessing the aptitude and suitability of potential apprentices before they commit to an apprenticeship contract.”

The Federal Government is investing $ 200 million a year in programs to improve screening of job seekers.