For decades, one of the greatest challenges facing people wanting to enter Australia’s onshore drilling and well servicing industry has been surprisingly simple: how do you gain industry experience when you need an industry opportunity to gain that experience?

It is a problem Australian Well Control Centre set out to address when it launched the TURBO program.

Today, the program has developed into an established pathway for people seeking to prepare themselves for entry-level roles across drilling and well servicing, while also providing employers with another option for preparing new starters before they arrive at the rig.

Historically, completing an entry-level drilling qualification could be difficult for somebody outside the industry.

The conventional pathway often relied heavily on gaining employment first, developing competency in the workplace and completing training and assessment while working operationally.

That pathway remains entirely appropriate in many circumstances.

But it created a significant barrier for people trying to obtain their first opportunity.

TURBO approached the problem differently.

Rather than waiting for somebody to secure a position before beginning their development, AWCC created an intensive training pathway that allows eligible participants to undertake the Certificate II through structured training and assessment at AWCC’s facilities.

The current TURBO Cert II program is delivered over seven days at AWCC’s Brisbane or Toowoomba training centres.

Importantly, this isn’t about pretending that seven days of training creates an experienced rig worker.

It doesn’t.

There is no substitute for working on a rig, learning from experienced crews and developing competence through exposure to real operations.

What TURBO can do is give somebody a stronger starting point.

The qualification includes competencies covering workplace communication, risk control, emergency situations, environmental and heritage considerations, safe work practices and rig lease operations. Depending on the selected electives, participants can also undertake competencies relevant to areas such as gas testing, confined spaces, working at heights and other operational activities.

That creates an important distinction.

Instead of arriving at an employer with little understanding of the operating environment, a TURBO graduate has already been exposed to the terminology, hazards, equipment, expectations and safety disciplines associated with the industry.

They are still an entry-level worker.

But they are an entry-level worker who has started the learning process.

For employers managing recruitment, mobilisation and onboarding, that can be valuable.

Perhaps the most significant measure of TURBO’s development has been the number of graduates who have subsequently moved into industry employment.

AWCC has now seen TURBO participants progress into drilling and well servicing opportunities across the sector. The program has also developed relationships with industry employers and provides graduates with pathways to be considered for potential employment opportunities through AWCC’s workforce network.

That distinction is important: TURBO does not guarantee employment.

No responsible training provider should.

Employment decisions remain with employers and depend on vacancies, suitability, medical and fitness requirements, recruitment processes and industry conditions.

What TURBO provides is preparation and an opportunity to become more competitive when those positions arise.

Queensland Government support has further strengthened that pathway. AWCC’s RTO, Servitium Group Pty Ltd (RTO 41356), is currently listed by the Queensland Skills Gateway as an approved funded provider for RII21120.

TURBO’s success ultimately represents something larger than one training program.

Australia’s drilling and well servicing sector continually needs to develop its next generation of workers. Experienced personnel remain critical, but experience has to begin somewhere.

The challenge for industry is creating pathways that introduce new people without lowering expectations around competency or safety.

That is where TURBO has found its place.

It does not replace experience.

It does not replace employer induction, supervision or ongoing development.

And it does not promise somebody a career simply because they complete a qualification.

Instead, it provides something much more practical:

a place to start.

For the hundreds of people who have already taken that first step through TURBO, the program is demonstrating that with the right training, realistic expectations and industry connection, the gap between wanting an opportunity and being ready for one can become considerably smaller.

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