New Zealand apprenticeships, on the record: Progress,not promises.
Some employers get their apprentices qualified on time. Others keep a cheap pair of hands on apprentice rates for years. We record the difference.
Every apprentice gets the same promise. From the outside, the employers who keep it look exactly like the ones who don't.
“Work hard, and we'll get you through. Your sign-offs are coming. The pay step's next year.” Some bosses mean it. Some don't.
- Four years becomes six, with a “next year, mate” at every review.
- The book sits in a drawer, unsigned, while the units pile up.
- You're still on apprentice rates, doing a qualified tradesperson's job.
Nobody records the difference. So we do: how long it took, and whether the promises were kept.
Illustration of the record format. Neither employer is real, and neither are the numbers.
How it works
Four short steps, about two minutes. The timeline is the part that matters.
- 01
Find your employer
Pick them from the 42 we list, or type the name if they're not here yet. Current or past apprenticeship, both count.
- 02
Add your timeline
When you started, how long the programme is meant to take, and whether you've qualified or you're still going. That's the record.
- 03
Checked, then on the record
Rate it, say what it was really like, and give us an email to check you did the time. A person reads it before it goes live.
Time to qualify is the headline. Everything else answers one question: were you trained, or used?
Median time to qualify · the programme is 4 years
- Sign-offs on time
- 0123456789012345678901234567890123456789%
- Pay steps when due
- 0123456789012345678901234567890123456789%
- Would send a mate
- 0123456789012345678901234567890123456789%
- Overall
- 01234567890123456789/5
* Example only. No real employer or apprentice is shown. Real records appear on an employer's page once apprentices have added them and we've checked them.
The good employers deserve to be found by the best apprentices. The rest should know that the next one is reading.
Some employers mean it. You're qualified on time and they're proud of you. Some don't. Four years becomes six. The book sits in a drawer, and you wait for a “soon” that never comes.
Rate Your Apprenticeship is the record of what actually happened: how long it took, whether the promises were kept, whether you were treated like a person. Written by the apprentices who did the time.
- Every review comes from someone who did the time. We check before anything goes live.
- No paid placements. No employer gets to delete what an apprentice said.
- Names stay private, so the record can be public.
Progress, not promises.
For employers: your record is your best job ad.
A fast, fair progression record becomes a hiring advantage. The good ones get found by the best apprentices. That incentive is the point of the site.
The On-Time Employer mark
Earned only from apprentice records: a median time to qualify within the programme length, from enough reviews to mean something. It can't be bought or applied for, and it goes if the record slips.
Reply, don't delete
Every employer can reply to every review, publicly, once. No employer can remove one.
No paid rankings, ever
There is nothing to buy. Not a placement, not a position, not a removal.
The On-Time Employer mark, as it will appear on a progression record. No employer has earned it yet: it takes enough apprentice records to mean something.
How much does an apprentice get paid in NZ?
Training minimum wage, an hour
Adult minimum wage, an hour
At least $19.16 an hour, the training minimum wage, if you are 20 or over and your employment agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of an industry training programme. If either condition is not met, the floor is the adult minimum wage of $23.95 an hour. Most apprentices are paid above the floor.
The gap between the two rates is $4.79 an hour, and it is the single biggest thing to check before you sign.
Apprentice wages in NZ: hourly, fortnightly and yearly →
Electrical apprenticeships: pay and the steps to registration →
Carpentry and building apprenticeships: fees, pay and how long it takes →
Hairdressing apprenticeships: fees, pay and how long it takes →
Starting an apprenticeship at 25, 30 or 40: the pay drop worked out →
Wage rates from Employment New Zealand, checked 2026-11-01. Trade figures from Tahatū Career Navigator.
Last checked .
Which trades can you do an apprenticeship in?
This site covers 13 New Zealand trades. Each page has how long the apprenticeship takes, what the job pays, the school qualifications expected and whether the work needs registration, quoted from Tahatū Career Navigator.
- Electrician3–4 years · $66,000–$107,000 a year
- Plumber3–4 years · $56,000–$91,000 a year
- Carpenter and builder3–4 years · $52,000–$84,000 a year
- Automotive technician and mechanic0–4 years · $28–$41 an hour
- Welder0–3 years · $62,000–$97,000 a year
- Fitter and turner3–4 years · $69,000–$113,000 a year
- Refrigeration and air-conditioning technician0–3 years · $29–$48 an hour
- Painter and decorator0–3 years · $24–$36 an hour
- Chef0–1 year · $25–$37 an hour
- Hairdresser and barber0–3 years · $24–$33 an hour
- Roofer0–3 years · $25–$40 an hour
- Drainlayer3–4 years · $64,000–$98,000 a year
- Diesel mechanic1–4 years · $70,000–$113,000 a year
Guides
All guides →- Pay→
Apprentice wages in NZ (2026)
The $19.16 training and starting-out rates, what that is a year, and when you are owed the adult rate instead.
- Getting in→
How to get an apprenticeship
You need the employer first. What that actually takes, and who to call once you have one.
- Funding→
Apprenticeship Boost
$500 a month to your employer for your first year. Worth knowing when you ask to be taken on.
- The system→
Who runs apprenticeships now
Te Pūkenga is gone, the WDCs are gone, and eight Industry Skills Boards took over in January 2026.
Which New Zealand employers take on apprentices?
We list 42 New Zealand businesses that take apprentices on, across 7 regions and 13 trades, each verified against its own website. It is an index of who to approach, not a ranking. Each one gets a progression record as apprentices add their timelines.
Questions
The public record of how long each New Zealand employer's apprentices take to qualify, and whether the boss kept the promises made at interview. It is written by apprentices who did the time, and checked by a person before anything goes live.
Most trade apprenticeships are three to four years on paper; Tahatū Career Navigator lists electrician, plumber and carpenter at 3–4 years. What the paper does not tell you is how long a particular employer's apprentices actually take. That is the number we are here to record.
No. Names stay private, so the record can be public. We ask for an email only to check you did the time. It is never published and never passed to the employer.
A person reads every one before it goes live. We email you, and we may ask for something that shows you were an apprentice there: a payslip, your training agreement or a page of the book. Say what happened; don't name individuals.
No. An employer can reply to each review once, publicly. We correct facts that are wrong, and we remove anything that breaks our editorial policy, but an honest account does not come down because an employer asked.
No, and they never will. No paid placements and no paid rankings: that is the one thing that would make every record worthless. The On-Time Employer mark is earned from apprentice records only.
Not yet. The record starts with the first apprentice who adds a timeline. Until then, every employer page says plainly that no one has put that employer on the record.
No. Adding your timeline takes about two minutes and needs nothing more than an email address so we can check it.
Coming later: apprenticeships you can apply for, listed next to each employer's record.
Did the time? Put it on the record.
Anonymous. About two minutes. The next apprentice will thank you.
Add your timeline