In the not too distant past, the gas industry relied on a mixture of internal company training, state based courses offering training for gas industry employees in outcomes such as electro-fusion, traffic management, using fire fighting equipment and gas industry tools such as gas detectors. Much of the training was designed to meet a demand for piece meal needs of gas industry companies and contractors.

The development of a nationally consistent competency based approach to training was implemented in the late 1990s to replace the state based regime. Out of this process came the advent of National Training Packages which empowered industry for the first time to development a framework that captured the outcomes associated with training. The competency standards represent the skills and attributes possessed by a qualified operator, not just the ‘training’ component.

The development of National Training Packages coincided with deregulation across the energy utilities sector, and in changes of ownership from State owned enterprises to privately owned concerns. National Training Package qualifications and standards therefore provide industry with a set of industry owned standards, supported by State and Territory Regulators and the Commonwealth Department representing Education and Training.

In the very first Gas Industry Training Package, the industry set up a number of qualifications for job roles such as distribution pipe layers, transmission sector operators, LPG Tanker drivers, cathodic protection technicians and support services employees such as meter readers and billing officers. This first Training Package was endorsed in 1998. The qualifications and competency standards were used primarily in Victoria and New South Wales, with the two major providers of training situated in those states. Companies in other jurisdictions such as Queensland, would often broker training providers from inter state to assist them in their competency development needs.

The first incarnation of the Gas Industry Training Package was a useful tool however it required a rigorous review. The review began in 2001 with consultants visiting all states and territories to gather views and develop recommendations. This phase was completed in 2002 with the Gas Industry Training Package steering group recommending a number of changes, including the addition of new qualifications for work areas not picked up in the first incarnation of the Training Package endorsed in 1998.

The National Steering Group included representatives from a wide cross section of the gas industry and has become the Gas Industry National Training Advisory Group post implementation of the UEG06 Gas Industry Training Package. Representatives of this group include persons representing asset owners such as SP AusNet, Ven Corp, Alinta and Country Energy; major contractors such as Tenix and Bilfinger Berger; the Australian Workers Union and the Transport Workers Union; and, registered training organisations such as Tenix and Gipps TAFE.

The members of the Gas Industry National Training Advisory Group also represent the Energy Networks Association and there is communication between this group and State and Territory Gas Regulators. The Australian Pipeline Industry Association is also organising to appoint a representative to the Gas Industry National Training Advisory Group.

Out of the Gas Industry National Training Advisory Group, the consultants have gone on and produced a number of new competency standards and qualifications which have now been included in the Training Package. These new qualifications and competency standard units are in the transmission side of the industry, including the addition of competency standard units for control room operators. In the distribution side of the industry, competency standard units were added for systems operations, also known as pressure control.

After the endorsement of the Gas Industry Training Package, UEG06 (endorsed in 2006), the industry has requested the Department of Education, Science and Training to add further qualifications for Gas Transmission Pipeline Construction (with the assistance of APIA) and for gas industry inspectors (with the assistance of gas industry regulators – especially Energy Safe Victoria). These updates are currently being finalised and it is expected they will be included in the UEG06 Gas Industry Training Package in early 2008.

There are a number of supporting documents and guidelines for the Training Package, which can be found on the EE-Oz Training Standards web-site www.ee-oz.com.au. The supporting documents are found in the Gas section of the web-site and include the recently developed Training Package navigator which allows users to click on qualification codes and competency standard unit codes to go directly to the documents related to these particular areas of the Training Package.