MATES in Construction has rolled out its Apprentice Resilience Training Program to boost resilience among apprentices and increase retention.

The training program pilot, funded by Master Builders Queensland, is designed to combat issues of bullying and promote mental well-being among apprentices by providing workplaces with an All Site Toolbox Talk, Supervisor Skills Development and Apprentice Resilience Training.

“Apprentices are crucial to the industry’s succession planning and labour shortage crisis, so keeping all the workers we have should be the priority, especially those looking to build a future in construction,” MATES chief executive officer Nick Thompson says.

“The purpose of our wrap-around program is to foster a work environment that promotes growth and resilience by educating workers to identify signs of bullying and supporting apprentices through effective intervention. Post-training, apprentices had more confidence in identifying workplace issues and walked away with a better understanding of mental health, suicide prevention and self-care.”

Trust from the top down is important for a high-performance workforce. Apprentices especially, need to have the confidence to approach their supervisors with any onsite issues.