Reasons why Apprentices Drop out: Part 1

1. Poor Workplace Culture

Many Apprentices quit midway due to poor treatment. According to a 2025 survey by Mates in Construction, the construction sector has the highest suicide rate in New Zealand.

I quote from their research, “Construction workers are nine times more likely to die by suicide than by a workplace accident.”

Poor mental health being is so prevalent on the worksite, along with drug use and alcoholism in the industry. Many Many Tradesmen are still stuck in the cycle of treating their Apprentices poorly, because they were treated poorly as apprentices.

Poor treatment is so normalised that many people don’t actually realised that it shouldn’t be normal. You may have come across this, but here are some examples:

• Being talked down to or embarrassed in front of others.
• Coworkers constantly talking badly about you behind your back.
• Being used only as cheap labour instead of being taught.
• Jokes that cross the line.
• No patience for questions even though you’re an apprentice.
• Unsafe practices are not taken seriously at work.
• No feedback except when you mess up – and you usually get yelled at. (Or called a dumbass behind your back).

Personally, I’ve had it all. Bullying, gaslighting, people talking badly behind my back, people stalking me on site. It got bad after I was sexually harassed and sexually assaulted by a couple of my ex-coworkers. I spent a year in Therapy, thanks to Mates in Construction. I’m in a much better team now, and the difference is day and night. I still don’t wear shorts to work, and am nervous when it comes to any form of physical contact.

2. Lack of Teaching

A lot of Apprentices are not being taught during their apprenticeships. A common practise is for companies to hire them as cheap labour and let them go when they are no longer needed. For many companies, it is in the best interest of their financial statements to keep Apprentices as cheap as possible.

Tradesmen are not trained teachers. A lot of them don’t have the patience or social skills to be teaching while on the job. On top of managing projects, it can be stressful for a Tradesman to teach multiple apprentices. To their credit, many of them make an effort to break out of the industry’s toxic cycle.

Some common tactics I’ve seen during my apprenticeship:

• Employers promising fresh apprentices that they can do switchboards as a ‘reward’ for doing the laborious work, but ultimately will give all the electrical work to their qualified guys.
• Getting third year apprentices to ‘teach’ first year apprentices, instead of putting them with qualified Tradesmen.
• Hiring apprentices for cable runs (and physical jobs), then making them redundant when the technical stuff comes up.
• Senior guys teaching their favourite Apprentices, and ignoring the ones they don’t like.

My first supervisor would often leave site, or not show up to work for many days in a row. He had 2 sites to manage, which was fine. However, after a while I began to realise that he never showed up to our site much at all. Most of us worked on this site. Instead, I was at the mercy of a 4th year Apprentice, who I caught (several times) watching Netflix in empty rooms. I suspected that he was on drugs due to his erratic behaviour. Between the emotional outbursts and narcissistic behaviour, I didn’t learn a single thing from him. I ended up quitting.

3. Sh!t Pay

Many Apprentices end up on Training wage, which is very unsustainable to live on.In New Zealand law, companies taking on Apprentices are able to pay them Training Wage under certain conditions. This is lower than minimum wage.

Since many Apprentices have never had a job before, they are often clueless about employment law. it’s not uncommon for businesses to take advantage of apprentices. Employment NZ is a really good place to start if you’re not sure about the basics of contracts.

After leaving one of my companies, I heard from an ex-coworker that [allegedly] they were taken to tribunal court for taking advantage of their Trade Assistants’ contracts. I did not know of the details, but I wasn’t surprised.

4. Feeling “not good enough”

Impostor Syndrome gets the best of us. Many times, you will wrestle with self doubt, and continuously compare yourself to your peers.

It’s easy to think that others are doing better than you, especially in a masculine industry that’s so concerned about ‘one-upping’ everyone else. Everyone is focused on looking good, and many will put other people down.

You’ll eventually learn that your self worth should not equate to the amount of money that you earn. Instead, focus on how well you do a task, and how efficiently you can get it done.

I started timing myself doing tasks. Changing power outlets, installing light switches. The more efficient I got at a task, the more the feeling of not being enough went away. Here’s more on how I felt as a girl in the trades.

5. Struggling with the “theory side”

There is this mentality that most people hold in this Industry, “I’m not smart with books.” This really impacts their confidence and can affect their work.

Coupled with three years of night classes (or one if you did a pre-trade course), the internalised stress of not passing your paperwork can really add up.

Here’s the thing though. Your job as an Electrician requires you to know how to apply the law in your work. You’re not going to be spending all day doing calculations for maximum volt drop. It’s okay if your grades aren’t great, as long as you pass and you understand the material.

The best electricians I worked with failed their qualifying exams six times. Yes, six times. Knowing the law is important. However, ‘books’ aren’t a good metric to measure your ability to be a good Tradesperson.

You’re at the ending…

It’s important for Apprentices to feel safe at work, get paid fairly, and be supported by their seniors. Until we support those who are less experienced than us, we cannot move forward as an industry. At the end of the day, it’s important that you do what’s best for you.