OUR VALUES

AGA’s purpose is to help apprentices and employers to build better futures for themselves.

Although the organisation has grown and diversified since 1982, we remain as committed as ever to the philosophy upon which the company was founded – to improve employment, training and education opportunities for young people.

As a not for profit organisation, AGA employs and trains apprentices along an ethical model. AGA is firmly committed to the concept of group training, which we believe is the best way to develop highly trained apprentices for Australian businesses, while protecting the interests and security of the young people concerned.

This approach places our apprentices (their health, safety and personal development) before any other consideration. A close second to this primary goal is our commitment to partnering with employers to provide a flexible solution to their business needs through the provision of well trained, confident young apprentices.

Genuine, caring leadership

AGA’s key values centre around the concepts of genuine, caring leadership. These goals inform not only the approach that we take in our daily business and relationships with employers, but also decision making and strategic planning at the executive level.

This commitment can be seen in our ‘employment guarantee’ – AGA does not stand down apprentices if they lose a placement with a host employer. Instead, we continue to pay them their salary ourselves while we find their next placement. In effect, this ‘guarantees’ each apprentice we employ that we will stick with them until they achieve their qualification.

An AGA apprenticeship is therefore much more than a training course or career advice (although it does involve these things). It is not labour hire, nor is it a job placement service. Although we offer training like a TAFE, we do much more than just train young people – we create employment for them.

Every new AGA apprentice undertakes a period of intensive ‘front end’ training before their first placement with a host, to ensure they have the basic skills, safety and confidence they need to participate in the workplace. During this time, they receive a full salary from AGA and their field officer is responsible for finding them their first placement with a host employer.

In other words, we do not wait until we have a host before employing an apprentice, but have confidence after 25 years in our ability to select, recruit and train the right people in apprenticeships, and to subsequently find them a placement within our network of more than 700 satisfied host employers.

Our organisation does not 'find young people work', it creates jobs for young people by approaching employers and structuring a flexible solution around their business needs, so they can host an AGA apprentice.