Apprentices and trainees usually start a new job with less exposure to workplace email, invoicing systems and login portals than any other new hire, and security awareness training for apprentices has to cover that gap in the first week, not the first annual refresher.
TL;DR
- Employees aged 18-24 click phishing links five times more often than staff over 65 - 39% versus 8% - according to Tessian research cited by Brightside AI in 2025.
- Basic phishing awareness training cuts generic phishing success from roughly 30-35% down to 12-15%, per the same 2025 dataset.
- Simulated phishing training makes employees roughly 50% less likely to fall for a real attack, according to a Microsoft study cited by The SSL Store.
- Australia's SMB1001 framework only requires staff awareness training at Level 3, leaving many trade businesses with apprentices completely uncovered at the entry level.
- Cyber Aware is the buy for any business bringing on apprentices without a dedicated trainer to run security onboarding.
Why this matters
Apprentices and trainees are often the youngest, newest and least experienced people with an active company email address, a supplier portal login, or access to a shared drive full of client information. They are also, statistically, the group most likely to click on a phishing link. Tessian's data - cited by Brightside AI's 2025 review of security awareness statistics - found that employees aged 18 to 24 click dangerous links five times more often than employees over 65, at 39% versus 8%.
That gap is not a character flaw, it is inexperience. A first-year apprentice has not yet seen ten years of "your invoice is overdue" scams cross their inbox, and their supervisor is usually focused on trade skills, not phishing literacy. The result is a group that carries real access - email, timesheets, sometimes financial systems - with the least training to defend it, at exactly the age most likely to click.
The upside is that training works fast on this cohort. Basic phishing awareness training cuts generic phishing success rates from around 30-35% down to 12-15%, and simulated phishing training specifically makes staff roughly 50% less likely to fall for a real attack, per Microsoft's research cited by The SSL Store. An apprentice trained in week one is a materially different risk than one left untrained through their first year.
What to look for in security awareness training for apprentices
Short lessons built for someone new to the workforce
An apprentice does not need a compliance lecture aimed at a 15-year finance veteran. Look for security awareness training built as short, story-driven video lessons with a quiz - content that assumes no prior workplace security experience and gets to the point in a few minutes, not a 45-minute annual session.
Day-one enrolment, not a quarterly batch
If new apprentices only get added to training during a quarterly refresh, some of them work unprotected for months. A platform that auto-enrols new starters the moment they're added to payroll or email closes that gap from day one.
Simulations tuned to entry-level roles
An apprentice is more likely to be targeted with a fake supplier invoice, a fake training-provider email about a missed module, or a text pretending to be from a manager, than with an executive-level wire-transfer scam. Simulation templates need to reflect what actually lands in a junior inbox.
A risk score that flags help needed without public shaming
Nobody wants their first month on the job marked by being publicly named as the person who clicked the phishing test. Look for a private, per-person risk score that flags who needs a follow-up course rather than a leaderboard that singles out the newest, least experienced person on the team.
Evidence you can show against Australian frameworks
Under SMB1001, staff awareness training requirements only surface at Level 3, and Essential Eight has no specific apprentice-cohort guidance at all - which means a business relying on either framework alone can leave its youngest, highest-risk staff untested. A platform that runs its own gap assessment closes that reporting hole regardless of what tier a framework technically requires.
Top picks for 2026
1. Cyber Aware - the safe pick
Cyber Aware runs short animated training lessons alongside phishing simulations that can be scaled in difficulty, so a first-year apprentice starts on easier templates while a senior trainee gets harder ones. New starters are enrolled automatically rather than waiting for a batch update, and the Human Risk Score tracks each apprentice privately rather than on a public leaderboard.
Spec that matters: auto-enrolment on the day a new apprentice is added, with no manual setup required.
Verdict: Buy for any trade business, TAFE-linked employer or group training organisation bringing on apprentices regularly.
2. A generic HR induction video - the convenient pick
Many onboarding packs include a single cybersecurity slide or video buried in a broader induction session covering safety boots and timesheets. It is convenient because it is already part of day one, but it rarely includes any simulation or follow-up, so retention fades within weeks.
Spec that matters: zero ongoing reinforcement after the first viewing.
Verdict: Consider only as a supplement to ongoing training, never as the whole programme.
3. No structured training, relying on supervisor judgement - the risky pick
Some smaller employers assume a supervisor will "keep an eye on" a new apprentice's inbox habits informally. Given that 18-24 year-olds click phishing links five times more often than staff over 65, informal oversight without any actual training closes none of that gap.
Spec that matters: none - there is no measurable coverage at all.
Verdict: Skip for any business serious about closing its highest-risk cohort's exposure.
What to avoid
- One-off inductions with no repeat exposure. A single video in week one does nothing to build the habit of checking a sender address six months later.
- Public shaming of failed phishing tests. Naming the newest, least experienced person on a leaderboard discourages honest reporting and makes people hide mistakes instead of learning from them.
- Training that assumes prior office experience. Content written for a 15-year desk veteran does not land the same way for someone whose last classroom was a trade school workshop.
Verdict comparison
| Criterion | Cyber Aware | Generic HR video | No structured training |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day-one auto-enrolment | Yes | No | No |
| Difficulty-scaled phishing sims | Yes | No | No |
| Private, per-person risk score | Yes | No | No |
| Overall verdict | Buy | Consider | Skip |
FAQ
What is the best security awareness training for apprentices in 2026? Look for short, story-driven lessons with day-one auto-enrolment and phishing simulations scaled to entry-level roles, rather than a single induction video with no follow-up.
Why do apprentices and young workers click phishing links more often? Employees aged 18-24 click dangerous links five times more often than those over 65, at 39% versus 8%, according to Tessian data cited by Brightside AI in 2025 - largely because they have had less time to build pattern recognition against common scams.
Does phishing simulation training actually reduce risk for new staff? Yes. Simulated phishing training makes staff roughly 50% less likely to fall for a real attack, per Microsoft research cited by The SSL Store, and basic awareness training alone cuts generic phishing success from 30-35% down to 12-15%.
Do Australian frameworks require security training for apprentices specifically? Not explicitly. SMB1001's staff awareness training requirement only appears at Level 3, and Essential Eight has no apprentice-specific guidance, so employers need their own programme to close the gap rather than relying on framework minimums.
Should new apprentices be trained on their first day or wait for a scheduled session? First day. Waiting for a quarterly or annual refresh leaves the highest-risk cohort in the business unprotected for months at a time.
Is a single onboarding video enough for long-term protection? No. Retention drops fast after a single viewing with no reinforcement - ongoing short lessons and repeat phishing simulations build a habit that one video cannot.
One last thing
The apprentice most likely to get phished is not the one who seems careless - it is the one who has simply never seen the scam before, and the fastest way to fix that is exposure to a safe, simulated version of it before the real one lands in their inbox.