After delivering industry training for more than 40 years, ACAPMA has taken the very big step of becoming a Registered Training Organisation. This leap will allow the Association to deliver the nationally accredited skills for fuel storage system induction, supervision, installation, maintenance, and decommissioning skills to industry after years of development and finally allowing for the recognition of the highly skilled individuals in the petroleum contractor space and the clear development pathway to mastery for newer entrants.
ACAPMA has been working with petroleum industry stakeholders to develop a nationally recognised skills for those involved fuel storage systems works, supervision, installation, maintenance and decommissioning in Australia. This work was inherited from the former Australian Petroleum Industry Contractors and Suppliers Association (APICSA) in late 2015 – and ACAPMA has been working steadily on this goal ever since. After extensive stakeholder engagement in 2015 and 2016, in 2017 and 2018 a proposal for skills based on industry need was developed. This proposal was further considered and commented on by industry at the Asia Pacific Fuel Industry Forum (APFIF) in Auckland in 2018 and in Melbourne in 2019. The result was a Technical Advisor Council that worked with the Australian Industry Standards to develop draft skills or micro credentials.
The skills developed aimed provide the first nationally accredited training for Fuel System Specialists.
“The beauty of the proposed approach is that it involved the development of individual skills standards for specific units of competency that would provide a mechanism for national skills recognition – without the substantial complexity and multi-year lead time required for the development of a formal 3 or 4 year VET qualification”, said ACAPMA CEO Mark McKenzie.
Early in 2021 the skills were officially made and became part of the nationally recognised training framework.
As accredited training the skills can only be delivered by a Registered Training Organisation ACAPMA took the step to become an RTO in order to deliver this vital industry training.
“The decision to go through the long and rigorous process of becoming and RTO was not an easy one, particularly in the middle of a pandemic and the pressures that COVID has placed on the Association as a whole, but ACAPMA set out to build recognition and development pathways for fuel contractors in 2015, and becoming an RTO so that this vital training and recognition can be delivered was a necessary step”, explains Mark.
“The industry asked ACAPMA to build the recognition and skills, and as the industry association ACAPMA has stepped up again to ensure that those skills are delivered and recognised”, added Mark.
ACAPMA RTO (RTO No. 45783) is now delivering these skills in Sets and Courses;
- Fuel Storage and Dispensing Site Contractor Induction Skill Set
- Supervise Compliance with Fuel Storage and Dispensing Site Requirements Skill Set
- Fuel Storage and Dispensing System Installation and Modification Course
- Fuel Storage and Dispensing System Maintenance Course
- Fuel Storage and Dispensing System Decommissioning Course.
“The delivery of these skills has started today, with enrolments from the waiting list taken this morning. These skills will now form a key part of ACAPMAs contractor professional development program, the Duly Qualified Person program. The DQP program recognises individuals in the petroleum industry for the skills and experience they possess and their commitment to continuing professional development. These skills will be added to the list of recognised skills and professional development activities that are recognised by the DQP program”, continued Mark.
The news of ACAPMAs RTO registration, and the commencement of delivery on these long-awaited courses has been well received by the industry with one excited petroleum contractor remarking “I have been waiting for this announcement!!!! So exciting and much needed for the industry! Could you please arrange to send me the required documentation to enrol.”
Nationally accredited training that results in Certification / Statement of Attainment has very particular enrolment, verification and completion requirements. These requirements, and the operational realities of the industry, have been taken into account in the design of the courses.
“The challenge in designing the operation and the content for the skills and courses was in the unique nature of the fuel industry. As a geographically dispersed industry online delivery was preferred. When it came to consideration of how to communicate and verify competency there is a tendency for regulators to prefer in person test environments, that simply would not be possible in the fuel industry, not without building, destroying and rebuilding a site constantly”, outlined ACAPMAs Executive Manager for Employment and Training Elisha Radwanowski.
“Such a test environment would be completely unworkable and unbelievably cost prohibitive. As a result, the courses have been designed to have a focus on in workplace mentor assessment, backed by online courses and trainer interactions and workshops, verified with workbooks, videos and interviews. This makes the courses accessible to industry participants, while allowing for costs to be kept down”, explains Elisha.
“These courses and skills are a first for the fuel industry, so we understand that some learners and businesses may wish to know more about how they work and what needs to be done, so we will be holding a Webinar to allow for these questions to be addressed”, explains RTO Manager Jill Angus.
To explore the ACAPMA Course Catalogue of both industry and accredited training see; https://acapma.com.au/training/.
To learn more about the ACAPMA Duly Qualified Person program see; https://acapma.com.au/contractors/.
To explore the Fuel System Specialist courses and how they may work for you, join us for a Q & A webinar;
ACAPMA RTO – Introduction to the Fuel Systems Specialist Courses
For: Anyone with questions about the courses
Date: Friday 4 March 2022
Time: 13:00 AESD (Sydney) Time
Cost: FREE
Elisha Radwanowski BCom (HRM&IR)
ACAPMA
Published with permission from ACAPMA.
Source: https://acapmag.com.au/2022/02/acapma-rto-delivering-fuel-system-specialist-courses/
