The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA’s Energy Apprenticeships Group has kicked off with 16 process operator apprentices to begin their four-year training today.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA’s Energy Apprenticeships Group has kicked off with 16 process operator apprentices to begin their four-year training today.
In partnership with industry leaders Quadrant Energy, Woodside Petroleum, Shell and Vermilion Energy, EAG will facilitate a new standardised education and training program to increase the supply of safe, skilled workers in the oil and gas sector.
The training will comprise two years based in Perth at the Challenger Institute of Technology’s Australian centre for Energy and Process Training, followed by two years of real-world experience as fly-in, fly-out operators at various onshore and offshore oil and gas facilities in Australia.
CCIWA chief executive Deidre Willmott said through the EAG Academy, CCI was committed to helping the oil and gas industry develop a qualified workforce of skilled and reliable employees and to provide ongoing mentoring, coaching tools, resources and support.
EAG general manager Pat Tierney said the academy would help prepare the WA oil and gas industry for future success.
“We’re providing a training solution for the entire industry that delivers results more efficiently than any one business because we’re sharing resources and costs and reducing repetition in the recruitment and training stages,” he said.
“Local-based workers are up to four times cheaper to employ than relocated expatriates and our program will increase the global talent pool of oil and gas operators.”
Quadrant Energy training and development manager Stewart Allan said the EAG apprenticeship scheme would add new talent to the existing technical workforce and enhance the future skills base of the Australian industry.
Shell Australia vice-president production, David Bird, said the EAG was a great example of industry collaboration and would play a significant role in feeding the pipeline for future Prelude FLNG operations.
“The diversity of the 16 apprentices highlight the real success of this program and supports Shell Australia’s focus on local employment and training opportunities,” he said.
EAG Academy apprentice Beth Clarke, 19, who started work today, said she was excited about her new career.
“You’re getting paid to learn and at the end of four years you’re a fully qualified process operator – there aren’t many opportunities like that,” she said.
“All my friends are so jealous because they’re all stuck doing a university degree and they don’t have any income and they don’t know what they want to do when they graduate.”