insights

The Employer's Guide to Hiring a Trainee: We Handle the Paperwork

Employer blog

Most education and care sector employers want to take on a trainee. What stops them is the assumption that it means a significant admin project: contracts, payroll, compliance, workers' comp, Fair Work obligations, legal risk, all landing on top of an operation that's already stretched. That instinct makes complete sense under direct employment. But Y Careers doesn't work that way, and the distinction matters.

We're the legal employer, not you

Y Careers is a Group Training Organisation (GTO). We are an innovative social enterprise and a subsidiary of The Y (formerly YMCA), supported by the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. As a GTO, we're the legal employer of every trainee we place. When a trainee works at your centre or facility, they're on Y Careers' payroll, not yours. Your responsibility is the workplace and day-to-day supervision. That's it.

Here's what we handle so you don't have to:

  • Employment contract: signed with Y Careers. You're not the employer of record.
  • Payroll and super: trainees are paid by Y Careers, earning above the national training award under The Secure Jobs Better Pay Act.
  • Workers' compensation: covered under our policy, not yours.
  • Pre-employment screening: Working with Children Checks, police checks, and reference checks, all completed before anyone starts.
  • Safeguarding induction: completed by the trainee before day one.
  • Training plan and RTO coordination: we set up and manage the full study pathway toward their Cert II or above qualification.
  • Government compliance and reporting: all Fair Work and apprenticeship framework obligations, handled end-to-end.
  • Career Coach: regular check-ins with your trainee throughout the program, and the first point of contact if anything needs managing.

If a placement isn't working out for any reason, our team manages the transition. You don't carry the employment risk, and you're never left to navigate that process alone.

How it works: from first call to first day

Most employers say the process is significantly easier than they expected. Positions are generally filled within four to six weeks, and the heavy lifting (screening, contracts, compliance) is handled by Y Careers at every stage. Here's what the process looks like:

  1. Enquiry: tell us your sector, role, and location. We'll take it from there.
  2. Matching: we find suitable candidates from our pool of job-ready young people and present you with a shortlist.
  3. Screening: WWCC, police checks, reference checks, and safeguarding induction. All completed by Y Careers before anyone is introduced to you.
  4. Contracts and compliance: employment contract, training plan, RTO setup. All handled by Y Careers.
  5. Site induction: you complete a health and safety checklist with your trainee in week one. This is your main onboarding task.
  6. Ongoing support: Career Coach check-ins continue for the full duration of the traineeship, supporting both the trainee and you.

How a traineeship becomes your next permanent hire

Australia's education and care sectors are short-staffed and competing hard for experienced candidates. Recruitment is expensive, induction takes time, and turnover in education and care roles are a real operational cost. A trainee who qualifies at your workplace already knows your systems, your culture, and your clients. Moving them into a permanent role costs nothing in additional recruitment or induction — and you've spent 12 to 18 months building that relationship.

According to the More Than You Think report by Learning Creates (2025), 38% of early childhood workers stay in the sector long-term when they enter through a structured pathway. That's a retention signal worth paying attention to. For Aged Care and Disability Support hosts, trainees can also continue into a second-year Cert IV, deepening their skills and expertise while remaining with your organisation.

If you've been thinking about taking on a trainee and the paperwork has been the blocker, that's the part we've already solved. Get in touch with Y Careers to talk through what a traineeship program could look like for your organisation, or explore the employer traineeship program to see the full detail.

Share