Commissioners Information Bulletin 217
Issued: 6 August 2003

Approval of an amended VTO for the recognised traineeship vocation of Process Manufacturing

At the request of Manufacturing Learning Australia, the National Process Manufacturing Industry Training Advisory Board (ITAB), the Commissioner for Vocational Training has approved the variation to the existing Vocational Training Order (VTO) for the recognised traineeship vocation of Process Manufacturing under section 6 of the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001.

The amended VTO includes the existing qualification s from the Plastics, Rubber and Cablemaking Training Package PMB01 and the Manufactured Minerals Products Training Package PMC99, and highlights new qualifications from the revised Chemical, Hydrocarbons and Oil Refining Training Package PMA02, endorsed on 9 December 2002 by the National Training Quality Council.

Vocational Training Order Standard Format
The VTO in each instance may make reference to:

1. the appropriate term or terms for apprenticeships or traineeships in that vocation
2. the appropriate probationary period or periods for apprenticeships or traineeships in that vocation, having regard to the term or terms specified for them under paragraph (a)
3. the appropriate qualification or qualifications that may be awarded in relation to an apprenticeship or traineeship in that vocation
4. any other training to be provided in addition to the training required for an appropriate qualification
5. such other matters relating to the training of apprentices or trainees in that vocation as the Commissioner considers appropriate.

A copy of the relevant revised VTO supporting the recognised traineeship vocation of Process Manufacturing is at Attachment A.

Chemical, Hydrocarbons & Oil Refining Training Package PMA02

Overview of changes
The revised training package has extended the number of qualifications from 4 to 9. New qualifications in Certificates II and III in Process Support have been introduced for those people working in the process manufacturing industry and whose job does not require them to be competent in the range of operations competencies required by the existing qualifications. See Attachment B (PDF 43KB) for the Qualification Structure.

Additional elements for control hazardshave been added to reflect changed Occupational, Health & Safety regulations. In addition, all health, safety and environmental units have been rewritten to better align with job structure and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

The qualifications in Certificates II and III in Process Plant Operations allows for streaming by industry sectors. These are:

• Chemical and oil
• Hydrocarbons - Extraction
• Hydrocarbons - Transmission

Qualification packaging requirements have been categorised into core, operations and support units. It is the selection of operations units of competencies, some of which have prerequisites, that result in either a generic or a streamed qualification.

The streamed qualifications summarise typical operational competencies within each industry sector. The operations competencies within these streams relate specifically to the equipment and processes that are used to produce their products. However, this does not preclude the use of other relevant units of competency if the job falls across or outside of these typical streams.

Any customisation of the streamed qualifications should not compromise the generic packaging rules, or the operations units which are a requirement of the streamed qualification. The packaging requirements for the streamed qualifications are listed in Attachment C.

The streamed qualifications have the same code as the generic qualifications and are not separately endorsed.

There is direct entry at any level for all qualifications for the traineeship pathways. However, several qualifications do contain units of competency that include prerequisites and these are clearly identified in the qualification structure. See Attachment D.

For the purpose of the amended VTO, Process Manufacturing trainees will have the option of gaining the following qualifications from the revised Chemical, Hydrocarbons and Oil Refining Training Package PMA02, in addition to those qualifications from the Plastics, Rubber & Cablemaking Training Package PMB01 and the Manufactured Mineral Products Training Package PMC99:

• Certificate II in Process Support PMA20202
• Certificate III in Process Support PMA30202
• Certificate II Process Plant Operations PMA20102
• Certificate III Process Plant Operations PMA30102
• Certificate IV Process Plant Technology PMA40102

The packaging and combination of the minimum number of units required for each revised qualification are outlined in Attachment E.

A table summarising the relevant number of units required for each qualification can be seen at Attachment F (PDF 69KB).

Industrial arrangements
Industrial arrangements for trainees in the chemical, hydrocarbons and oil refining industries are in place through the following instruments:

National Training (Wage) Award
Oil and Petroleum Employees (Federal) Award
Enterprise Agreements for employees in Chemicals and Plastic Resins
NSW (State) Chemical Workers Award
Australian Workplace Agreements

Note Applications under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001 to establish any traineeship or apprenticeship will not be approved unless the Commissioner is satisfied that appropriate industrial arrangements are in place.

VET in Schools
None of the new Process Manufacturing qualifications will be available for VET in Schools.

Learning resources and assessment materials
A variety of non-endorsed components exist to support the Chemical, Hydrocarbon and Oil Refining Training Package PMA02. For information on what is available from the NSW Clearinghouse log on to http://www.skillsonline.net.au

An extensive range of resources to support delivery of qualifications can also be downloaded from the Manufacturing Learning Australia website www.mlaust.com.

Availability of Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)
NSW Department of Education and Training (DET) Training Market website http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/trainingmarket/ identifies RTOs who are scoped to deliver these qualifications under User Choice.

The National Training Information website http://www.ntis.gov.au identifies RTOs in NSW registered to deliver qualifications from the Chemical, Hydrocarbons and Oil Refining Training Package PMA02.

For any enquiries regarding this CIB, please contact the Vocational Training Tribunal Unit on (02) 9266 8579.

PAM CHRISTIE
Commissioner of Vocational Training