I live in New Zealand and during an apprenticeship they can pay a “training wage” which is 80% of MINIMUM wage.
I did my electrical apprenticeship through a training company, where I paid $2,500 (my life savings at that point) to start the apprenticeship. I went to every employer within my region and got turned down so this was my last resort.
I was then paid $13 p/h to crawl through ceilings, under houses, cut asbestos, and work with electricity every day.
As part of our training we had to travel to another city, pay our way there and pay for our own accommodation for our block course. So I was paying rent at home, and paying to stay at a hostel, for 2 weeks every year. I ended up sleeping in my car and just paying for the carpark.
Those 4 years were tough, I had no money for food at the end of the week as my wages went to rent, and to travel to the jobs my employer expected me to. Sometimes a 3-4 hour round trip.
To top it off, if I resigned I would've had to pay them another $2,500 (the cost of the tools they so generously provided at the start)
Has anyone else heard of something like this? I'm finally qualified and making more than double that, but I feel like it was a massive scam to take advantage of young people keen to start an apprenticeship.
I asked one of the host companies how much I was being charged out at, it was $25 and I saw $13 of that before tax. They also said they were instructed not to tell me that.