What to do if you feel lost or in over your head

What apprentices should know

You are not expected to know everything in year one, or even year three. Apprenticeships are a staged, on the job learning system precisely because trades take years to learn properly.

"In over your head" looks different for different people. A 17 year old first year feels dumb asking basic questions. An adult apprentice who changed careers is juggling a mortgage on apprentice wages and being taught by tradies younger than them (if you were 21 or over when you signed up, most awards pay adult apprentices at least the national minimum wage, so check your rate with the Fair Work pay tool). A school based apprentice is juggling school and site days, and should raise problems with the school's VET coordinator as well as the employer. All three versions are common. None of them mean you picked the wrong trade.

The Australian Government funds a free national support network, Apprentice Connect Australia providers (formerly the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network, so older tradies may still call it that). They offer mentoring, personal support, and help sorting out problems with your employer or training.

The practical breakdown

If you're feeling lost on the tools, the fastest fix is usually the simplest one: say you don't understand, before you do the job wrong. Tradies would rather stop and explain something twice than fix a stuff up.

Then work out which kind of lost you are, because the fix depends on it. "I'm slow and confused" is a learning problem: ask more, write more down. "Nobody is teaching me anything" is a training breach. "I dread the crew" is a treatment problem. The last two have formal remedies covered below.

• •Ask before you start, not after you've made the mistake
• •Keep a notebook or notes app: it saves asking the same question three times and becomes evidence if training ever becomes a dispute
• •Review your training plan with your RTO so you know what you should be learning and when
• •Keep your training plan, work diary and profiling book up to date: they're your proof of what you have and haven't been taught
• •If it's safety related, always stop and ask, no exceptions

If the problem is how you're treated, not what you know

Some apprentices feel lost because they're being hazed, bullied, used as a labourer and broom pusher, or underpaid. That is not a you problem and it is not something to just cop. The Fair Work Ombudsman has specific guidance for young workers on bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination, and you can call them on 13 13 94 about bullying or unpaid wages. They can help you recover money you're owed, and it's unlawful to sack or punish you for asking.

If the bullying is ongoing and you want it stopped rather than compensated, the Fair Work Commission can make stop bullying orders while you keep working there. For underpayment, check your correct rate first with the Fair Work pay calculator: apprentice rates rise every year of your apprenticeship, and adult apprentices have higher minimums.

• •Being yelled at once isn't bullying; repeated unreasonable treatment that risks your health is
• •Write down dates, what was said or done, and who saw it
• •Raise it with your boss, GTO field officer or host site HSR first if it's safe to; go to the FWO or FWC if it isn't or nothing changes

If you're not actually being trained

Your training contract legally obliges your employer to train and supervise you against your training plan. If you've spent six months sweeping floors and running for parts, that's a breach, and it's regulated by your state training authority, not just something to grumble about at smoko.

Each state has a formal complaint path. In NSW it's Training Services NSW on 13 28 11. In Queensland it's Apprenticeships Info on 1800 210 210, with the independent Queensland Training Ombudsman (1800 773 048) if you're not happy with the outcome. Victoria, WA, SA, Tasmania, NT and the ACT each have an equivalent authority; your Apprentice Connect provider can point you to the right one and will often mediate first. If the problem is the quality of your TAFE or RTO's training rather than your employer, that complaint goes to the RTO first, then ASQA on 1300 701 801.

• •Evidence wins these disputes: training plan, diary or profiling book, photos of what you actually do all day
• •Raise it with the employer first and note the date you did
• •The authority can order the employer to fix the training, or approve moving you to an employer who will

Quitting the boss is not quitting the trade

The biggest myth going: that leaving a bad employer means starting your apprenticeship again or giving up the trade. It doesn't. Your training contract can be transferred to a new employer, and everything you've completed (competencies, TAFE units, time served) carries over. Transfers need agreement from you, the old employer and the new one, lodged with your state training authority.

Other options exist too. During probation (typically one to three months) either side can end the contract just by telling the other in writing, no penalty. Most contracts also have a cooling off period right at the start. After probation, contracts can be cancelled by mutual consent, or suspended for a fixed period if you need time out for illness or personal reasons rather than a permanent exit.

If you're employed through a group training organisation (GTO), your situation is different and often easier: the GTO is your legal employer, not the business you turn up to. Call your field officer, whose actual job is fixing failing placements, and ask to be rotated to a different host employer. Your apprenticeship continues without interruption.

Resi vs commercial vs industrial: who you can actually ask

Who's available to help depends entirely on where you work. Advice like "talk to your supervisor" falls flat when the supervisor is the problem and there's nobody else on site.

• •Residential, small crew: your boss may be the only tradie around. Your outside options matter more here: Apprentice Connect provider, your TAFE teacher, your state training authority, or your GTO field officer if you have one
• •Commercial sites: there's usually a leading hand, a site supervisor above your direct boss, an elected health and safety representative (HSR) and often a union delegate. An HSR is a legitimate person to raise safety and treatment concerns with, and it's illegal to punish them or you for it
• •Industrial and large infrastructure: formal structures everywhere: inductions, toolbox talks, HSRs, employee assistance programs (EAPs) with free confidential counselling. Use them, that's what they're for
• •On any site, your TAFE or RTO teacher is a neutral adult who sees hundreds of apprentices and knows what's normal and what isn't

What to ask your supervisor

Supervisors and leading hands generally respect apprentices who ask direct, specific questions more than ones who nod along and hope for the best. It shows you're paying attention.

• •"Can you show me that again, I want to make sure I've got it right"
• •"What should I be able to do by this stage of my apprenticeship?"
• •"Is there someone else on site I can ask when you're flat out?"
• •"Can we go through my training plan? I want to check I'm covering what I'm supposed to"
• •"I felt out of my depth on that job today, can we go over it?"

Common mistakes

• •Pretending you understand instructions to avoid looking silly, then getting it wrong
• •Quitting the whole trade because of one bad employer, instead of transferring the contract
• •Not knowing you're GTO employed and complaining to the host instead of calling your field officer
• •Copping bullying or wage theft as "just how the industry is": it's not, and there are formal remedies
• •Comparing yourself to tradesmen who've had years more practice
• •Throwing out your diary or profiling book, then having no evidence when a training dispute comes up
• •Waiting until your annual review to raise a problem that's been bothering you for months

When to stop and ask for help

There's a difference between the normal discomfort of learning a trade and genuinely struggling. If you're dreading work most days, feel unsafe, aren't getting trained, or you've seriously thought about walking off the tools, talk to someone outside your immediate workplace this week, not next month.

For anything apprenticeship related, start with your Apprentice Connect provider or GTO field officer. For your head: construction has its own service, MATES in Construction, with a free 24/7 helpline on 1300 642 111 answered by counsellors who know the industry, plus trained connectors on many larger sites. It exists because construction workers take their own lives at roughly twice the rate of other workers, and apprentices are the most at risk group. Lifeline (13 11 14), Beyond Blue and Headspace (for under 25s) are there too, around the clock, and larger employers' EAPs are free and confidential.