The cheapest way to hire your first apprentice is to advertise for free and spend your money on the trial period and training instead, because the advert was never where the real cost was hiding.
You're a one-person outfit, maybe two vans, and someone finally asked you the question you've been putting off: are you taking on an apprentice this year. The honest answer is you'd love to, but you've never written a job ad in your life and you assumed advertising for an apprentice electrician meant paying some board a few hundred dollars just to find out if anyone local wants the job. That assumption is costing you more than the advert would.
What does an apprentice actually cost before they've picked up a tool?
Before your apprentice has wired a single switch, you're looking at their wages, your time supervising them on site, ITO fees if you're going through one, and whatever tools you kit them out with. Against that list, the cost of finding them in the first place should be the smallest line, not the biggest. Plenty of sparkies default to paid boards out of habit because that's what the big electrical contractors down the road use, but a business hiring one apprentice a year has a completely different maths problem than one hiring fifteen.
You can advertise a role at no cost by setting up a free employer account, and the free plan gives you one live listing for 15 days, which is exactly what one apprentice search needs. There's no card involved and nothing to cancel later. If you want it live faster or want the featured placement, the Pro tier is $29 one off for 30 days, which for a role you're only filling once is still a decision you can make on a Tuesday without checking with anyone.
What should the ad actually say for an apprentice role?
Write it the way you'd explain the job to a mate's kid who's asked about it, because that's roughly who's going to read it. Say what trade, what area you cover, whether they need a restricted licence yet or whether that comes later, and what the starting pay looks like. An apprentice ad that says "first or second year, must have full licence" when you'd actually take someone with a learner's is ruling out people you'd have hired.
Don't assume the applicant pool is all school leavers either. FindMeAJob is built for people with up to two years of work experience, including none at all, which covers a school leaver, someone finishing a pre-trade course, or a career changer in their late twenties who's done a demolition job and now wants a trade. A required certificate, ticket or restricted licence doesn't put your ad out of scope, it just needs to be in the ad so the right person self-selects.
How do you screen an apprentice when there's no track record to check?
You can't check five years of on-tools experience because there isn't any, so screen for the things that actually predict whether someone finishes an apprenticeship: do they turn up on time to the interview, do they ask a sensible question, do they seem like they'll take instruction without an ego about it. Every application through FindMeAJob comes with an AI hiring brief scored against your job description, which at minimum saves you reading twenty CVs looking for the same three signals.
The 90 day trial period is worth knowing about here too. It's available to employers with fewer than 20 employees, which as a sole trader or small outfit you almost certainly are, and it has to be set up correctly in the written agreement before the person starts, not after.
Source: Trial periods
Key takeaways
- A free FindMeAJob account gives you one live listing for 15 days at no cost, enough for a single apprentice search.
- Pro is $29 one off for a 30 day featured listing if you want it moving faster, not a subscription.
- State the licence or ticket requirement plainly in the ad rather than assuming applicants will ask.
- Screen for reliability and attitude, not a work history that a first apprentice won't have.
- The 90 day trial is available to employers with fewer than 20 staff but must be documented correctly in the agreement.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a recruiter to find an apprentice?
No. Most small electrical businesses find their first apprentice through a direct ad, word of mouth, or their ITO's own placement service. A recruiter fee makes little sense against one apprentice's starting wage.
What should I pay a first year apprentice?
Apprentice pay depends on your ITO agreement and experience level, but it must sit at or above the applicable minimum wage. Check the starting out and training minimum wage if they qualify for it.
Source: Minimum wage types
Can I use the free plan if I only ever hire one apprentice a year?
Yes. The free plan is designed exactly for that kind of hiring pattern, one active listing at a time with no ongoing cost, rather than a subscription built for constant hiring.
Does the apprentice need a full licence to apply?
No. A restricted or learner licence, or none yet, doesn't rule someone out of an entry level trade role. State clearly in the ad what stage of licensing you actually require.
If you're ready to find your first apprentice without spending anything on the search itself, you can set up your free employer account and post the role today.