If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail. Let's drill deeper...
Who’s who in the world of training and education?
Careers in the water industry can be supported with a range of education and training, with accredited and non-accredited training at a VET, University or Postgraduate level.
Introduction Courses developed by the industry, for the industry
The qldwater training platform at www.watertraining.com.au is home to the Aqua Card and Brown Card training courses, with plenty more in the pipeline.
This website has just undergone a system upgrade and you will soon find a host of other resources on this site including recordings of 22 Essentials Webinars providing technical skills on a range of topics.
The Introduction to the Water Industry provides a good overview of the water industry across Australia and a great free resource for new staff or elected representatives.
The next course in the pipeline is the Green Card, which provides a general overview of environmental requirements for water and sewerage service providers.
DID YOU KNOW?
qldwater can arrange bulk uploads of staff to the Aqua and Brown Card training courses to make their (and your) lives easier. Just populate the Excel template and email it to skills@qldwater.com.au. The template be found here.
Micro-Credentials
In 2021/2022 qldwater was successful in getting DYJESBT funding for a non-accredited Micro-Credential pilot program based on the knowledge components from units of competency from the National Water Training Package. Approximately 150 learners participated in the program.
qldwater applied for the next round of funding. Successful applicants for the 2023 Program will receive up to $250,000 to design, develop and deliver one or more micro-credentials aligned to specific industry skill gaps. The skill outcomes targeted for the program will not be nationally recognised (i.e. vocational education and training (VET)), as these outcomes can be supported under existing VET investment programs. Watch this space for more details to come!
Vocational education is education that prepares people to a skilled trade as a tradesperson or work as a technician.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) is the national professional body responsible for collecting, managing, analysing and communicating research and statistics on the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector. In April 2023 they released a report on VET delivery in regional, rural and remote Australia: barriers and facilitators. This research set out to investigate how the training system could better meet the needs of regional, rural and remote Australia, with the project focusing on:
These issues were examined through interviews with 58 stakeholders in eight case study locations across the country. Interviewees represented registered training organisations (RTOs), industry peak bodies, state training authorities (STAs), regional development bodies and employment service providers.
Read and download a copy of the report here.
qldwater made a submission to the Education, Employment and Training Committee’s (EETC) Inquiry into the delivery of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in regional, rural and remote (RRR) Queensland (the Inquiry) which you can read here.
Skills Assure Suppliers
All Government funding requires Registered Training Organisations to be a SAS (Skill Assure supplier).
It may be worthwhile to note whilst the daily terminology used for referring to all training providers is “RTO”, there is a difference between an RTO and an SRTO.
A registered training organisation (RTO) is a training provider registered to deliver vocational education and training (VET) and assessment services.
A supervising registered training organisation (SRTO) is an RTO that accepts the role to deliver specified services in regards to a traineeship or an apprenticeship and to monitor delivery of training and assessment services required under a training plan.
Queensland has two RTOs approved as Skills Assure Suppliers (SAS) to deliver the National Water Training Package.
Simmonds & Bristow recently launched a 3-month intensive Bootcamp to fast-track the delivery of the Cert III in Water Industry Operations.
Non-Skills Assure Suppliers
Viridis have partnered with Fusion Training Solutions who are a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) to offer accredited National Water Training Package courses and units of competency.
Compliance Training
Some legislation requires specific training to be completed before work can be done - e.g. confined space, asbestos removal etc. We have gathered some information on this page but please note that we provide this research as a service to the urban water industry. If any errors or omissions are noted, please contact skills@qldwater.com.au so that we can keep the information as up to date as possible.
Specialist Short Courses
As noted above, qldwater have collected information of Specialist Short Courses including CCTV Inspections, Leak Detection, Cable Locating and more over the years. This type of information is difficult to maintain, so please email skills@qldwater.com.au if any of these details are out of date or if you'd like your organisation to be added.
Engineering and Environmental Sciences for the water sector
There are a number of University qualifications that can be undertaken to assist you to build the knowledge and skills relevant and required for the water industry.
Most universities offer qualifications in Engineering and Environmental Science, which can both be applied to positions within the industry.
Examples of qualifications that can be undertaken include:
Scholarships
There are a number of scholarships that are available to assist water professionals to gain a tertiary qualification to increase their skills and knowledge of topics impacting the industry. These include the International Centre for Excellence in Water Resource Management (ICEWarm) and International Water Centre (IWC). Click on the links for more information.