Guides to New Zealand apprenticeships
The things worth knowing before you sign, each one sourced to the government page it came from and dated so you can tell when it was last checked.
Last checked .
How long did your apprenticeship take?
Put it on the record. Anonymous, about two minutes.
Add your timelineWhat do you need to know before starting an apprenticeship in NZ?
12 guides, one question each: what you are legally owed, who administers your training after the 2026 reforms, the $500-a-month subsidy your employer can claim for your first year, the order the steps have to happen in — employer first, training second — who pays the training fees, and starting a trade later in life.
What apprentices are paid
Two legal wage floors, $4.79 an hour apart. Which one applies to you, and when your employer owes you the higher one.
Who runs apprenticeships now
Te Pūkenga disestablished, WDCs replaced, eight Industry Skills Boards in charge since January 2026 — and another change due in 2028.
Apprenticeship Boost
$500 a month to your employer for your first year, with a 20-day application deadline most people never hear about.
How to get an apprenticeship
Employer first, training second. The order of operations, and what an employer is actually deciding.
Apprenticeship fees and Fees Free
Who pays the training fees, what to ask before you sign, and how Fees Free refunds the final 2 years.
Adult apprenticeships
No upper age limit. What changes when you start a trade at 25, 30 or 40, and how to get an employer to say yes.
The Gateway programme
Still at school? Workplace learning for NCEA credits from year 11: who can do it, why you are not paid, and how it turns into an apprenticeship.
BCITO, Competenz, Connexis and MITO
Where each training organisation sits after Te Pūkenga: which are industry-owned providers now, which are still inside an Industry Skills Board, and what it means mid-apprenticeship.
Electrical apprenticeships
The six steps from Trainee Limited Certificate to EWRB registration, what an apprentice electrician is paid, and how long it takes.
Carpentry and building apprenticeships
A job with a builder, BCITO's Level 4 Certificate in Carpentry over 3 to 4 years, fees of $1,984 then $964 a year, pay, and the LBP licence after.
Hairdressing apprenticeships
A salon job of 20+ hours a week, HITO's Level 4 certificate over 36 to 42 months, the $1,715-a-year fee, and what apprentices are paid.
Engineering apprenticeships
Fitting and turning, welding, heavy diesel and refrigeration: what each pays once qualified, and how to get taken on.