Skills eFlash #136

Skills eFlash #136 New

Date: 20-May-2025

In this edition: Water Skills Partnership Meeting | High Pressure Water Jetting | Industry Skills and Jobs Advisor | Webinars and more!

Water Skills Partnership Meeting

Thank you to everyone who joined the recent Water Skills Partnership meeting on 8 May. It was a productive session with valuable input across key topics including:

Advocacy for network operators to clear blockages from residential points under existing legislation via restricted drainer licensing
Proposal to transition to a 3-year apprenticeship model with 21 units of competency
Development of an annual training calendar to deliver Chlorine Handling, Confined Space, HPWJ, and First Aid/CPR courses in regional Queensland
Proposal to collaborate with WaterRA on a national textbook for water operations training
Promotional flyers developed for members to use at careers expos and other events

The minutes of the meeting are available on the WSP feed on Zoho, which is our preferred platform to share news and documents. Please drop us a line at skills@qldwater.com.au if you don’t have access and we’ll send you an invite.

If you have any corrections or additional comments regarding the minutes, please email Sarah Henry. Your feedback helps ensure we capture the collective voice of the group accurately.

We’ll confirm the next meeting date shortly based on preferences shared (3rd or 10th July) and circulate a calendar invite once finalised. Thanks again for your continued involvement and contributions.

High Pressure Water Jetting Training

There’s been a surge in activity to ensure Council staff meet the requirements of Queensland’s exemption for Water Service Providers using High Pressure Water Jetting (HPWJ) to clean sewers.

Under this exemption, providers must implement approved safety training and follow a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) aligned with the regulator’s conditions. While each provider must adapt their SWMS to suit local circumstances and equipment, the fundamental safety principles outlined in the sample SWMS must be upheld.

To support this, qldwater offers guidance through the Grey Card and the Safe Work Australia SWMS Tool, available via the Water Training website.

However, operators must also complete accredited training to safely carry out this high-risk work. This means undertaking the full MSMSS00019 Operate a Drain Cleaning System skill set— not just the general civil unit—with a refresher required every two years for ongoing compliance.

This one-day course provides nationally recognised training and has recently been updated to reflect the latest exemption guidance, including safe practices when jetting around asbestos cement (AC) pipe. Participants learn to select and use appropriate jetting heads for AC pipe and gain a strong understanding of SWMS requirements and WHS obligations.

The training includes four units of competency and requires pre- and post-course study. It’s ideal for water and wastewater crews working around legacy infrastructure, particularly where AC pipes are still in use.

qldwater is seeing strong interest across Queensland, with upcoming sessions in Toowoomba already attracting strong participation from local councils. Sessions are capped at 10 participants to ensure quality hands-on learning.

To register your Council’s interest, please contact Sarah.

Utility Damage Prevention and Awareness Session

qldwater is hosting a general awareness and education session in partnership with Before You Dig Australia (BYDA). Join us to understand the role of BYDA, safe excavation practices, complying with asset-owner instructions, and the consequences of damages. Learn how to mitigate and avoid potential damage and harm and ensure a safe work environment.

The presentation will include:

About Before You Dig Australia (BYDA)
How and why damage occurs
What you can do to stay safe and avoid damages
The importance of safe excavation
The 5P’s of Safe Excavation
Safe work practices
Legislative and Duty of Care requirements
How the BYDA referral service works
How to lodge a free BYDA enquiry
Australian Standard 5488 - Classification of Subsurface Utility Information
Skilled Locators – who they are, their role & how to find one

Essentials Wellbeing Webinars

After last year’s powerful session on mental health in the water sector, we’re diving deeper in 2025 with two new Essentials Webinars focused on Self Leadership and Emotional Intelligence.

Led by leadership coach Belinda Chapman, these one-hour webinars will provide practical, evidence-based tools to build resilience and emotional clarity in your work and life. Tailored for water professionals, they’re designed to help you lead yourself—and others—through challenges with confidence and composure.

Thursday 19 June, 10–11am

Self-Awareness for Stress Management and Personal Resilience

Explore neuroscience-backed insights and reflection techniques to identify triggers, highlight strengths, and boost your personal resilience.

Thursday 18 September, 10–11am

Self-Regulation for Coping with Stress and Building Resilience

Learn how to respond (not react) to stress, using emotional regulation strategies to stay calm, focused, and effective.

Both sessions are interactive, insightful, and sector-specific.

More info and register here.

Missed the first one? Watch it here.

Fundamentals of Jar Testing

Are your operators confident in the how and why of jar testing?

qldwater is working with Skilled Supervisor Terry Fagg from Western Downs Regional Council on a refresher of his 2021 Fundamentals Webinar on Jar Testing.

This on-line webinar will revisit the fundamentals and practical applications of jar testing, helping operators better understand treatment processes and improve plant performance.

Date and time to be confirmed – stay tuned!

Industry Jobs and Skills Advisor Update

Following successful funding under the Industry Skills and Jobs Advisory Program, Project Manager Cass Cowley has hit the ground running to set the project up for success across its three-year term.

The Industry Skills and Jobs Advisor (ISJA) Program is a $17 million investment by the Queensland Government Department of Trade, Employment and Training to uplift the connectivity between industry and government and ensure Queensland's vocational education and training (VET) programs align with the real needs of industry. The ISJA Program is a key deliverable of the Good Jobs, Great Training: Queensland Skills Strategy 2024-28, which is Queensland’s roadmap to deliver on theNational Skills Agreement.

Cass will work closely with the Queensland Water Industry Reference Group (QWIRG) - a diverse group of employer, employee and Jobs and Skills Council representatives - to identify shared and unique challenges to workforce and skills across the water sector. The group is chaired by Trevor Dean, Executive Manager Engineering and Technical Services at Fraser Coast Regional Council.

A sector Action Plan is currently in development and will soon be published on the qldwater website.

Want to engage? Contact Cass at ccowley@qldwater.com.au or 0437 495 085.