A partnership between TAFE and Santos GLNG Project will see the establishment of a specialised Coal Seam Gas (CSG) and Gas Transmissions Pipeline Operations Training Centre in Acacia Ridge, Queensland.
[Pictured alongside (L-R): SkillsTech Australia Institute Director Mary Campbell, Premier of Queensland Anna Bligh and President Santos GLNG Mark Macfarlane.]
The partnership between SkillsTech Australia and Santos GLNG Project is valued at over than $1 million.
In the first year of operation, the Centre aims to train up to 90 people in the skills required to work in the Santos GLNG Project gas fields.
The six-month course will be a mixture of theory and field training and graduates will gain the skills to enable them to be employed in CSG operations including operating and maintaining gas wells, compressor stations and associated water facilities.
Santos GLNG Project will then provide trainees with a job and continuing support to complete their Process Plant Operations Certificate III through 18 months of on-the-job experience.
Another 10 trainees would learn the skills required to work on the Santos GLNG Project 42-inch gas transmission pipeline.
These trainees will learn how to operate high-pressure, large-diameter gas transmission pipelines and will gain the knowledge and practical skills aligned with Certificate III in Gas Industry Operation.
The Santos GLNG Project will also provide these trainees with a job and continuing support to complete their qualification through 12-18 months of on-the-job experience.
Santos GLNG Project will provide placements for all graduating students for the next 18 months, after which the CSG Operations Training Centre will provide opportunities for Queenslanders to enter this industry and work for any of the CSG companies.
SkillsTech Australia trainers would be trained by experts from Santos GLNG Project, which will also donate about $360,000 worth of equipment to SkillsTech.
President Santos GLNG Project Mark Macfarlane said the Santos GLNG Project facilitated the training centre of excellence to help in developing the skilled workforce necessary to support the emerging specialised CSG to LNG industry in Queensland.
"We want to ensure we grow the right amount of local expertise for the long-term operation of this new and significant industry. I know our project alone will look to employ around 1,000 people on an ongoing basis after the intensive construction phase is completed," Macfarlane said.
Through the CSG/LNG Industry Training Program, the Queensland Government has made available $5 million over two years, to be complemented by industry, to respond to the need for skilling new entrants and existing workers in the industry.
Through the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) initiative, school students, especially in the Surat Basin, will have the opportunity to focus their education and careers in the CSG/LNG industry.
Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) and Energy Skills Queensland (ESQ) have each developed comprehensive CSG/LNG workforce plans for the construction and operations phases of the projects to ensure the workforce keeps pace with the skills demand.