The Energy Apprenticeship Group (EAG) is a joint venture between the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and TAFEWA.

The CCI will be responsible for promotion and administration of the new initiative, including the placement of apprentices and trainees on industry sites, both offshore and onshore. The training itself will be provided through the Australian Centre for Energy and Process Training (ACEPT) at Challenger TAFE.

The EAG is intended to help give industry access to the right skills at the right time and to help alleviate the severe skills shortage that has hit the oil and gas sector, said APPEA’s director for Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Don Sanders.

“The Energy Apprenticeship Group will provide world class operator training for anyone wanting to enter the upstream oil and gas sector at a time when the robust growth of the industry is demanding increasing numbers of skilled personnel,” Sanders said.

“The industry will complement skilled ACEPT trainers by providing equipment and some expertise for the new world class training facility to ensure apprentices and trainees receive the hands-on experience so vital to learning.

Sanders said APPEA was optimistic that the scheme would be extended nationally from its base in WA.

Besides the EAG, the state government also created a Skills Formation Taskforce, to be chaired by former state development minister Clive Brown, which will develop plans to ease skills shortages in the trades and increase the take-up of apprenticeships and traineeships.

In addition, the government has: formed a Critical Skills Training fund to bring several skills programs under one umbrella; established an industry brokerage team to help small and medium-sized enterprises identify and get access to appropriate training; and appointed former Woodside Petroleum senior executive Keith Spence as the new chairman of the State Training Board.