Re-Wiring
to Achieve the
Unthinkable

Employer-built training for specialist workforce capability. Project focused, and measured on demonstrated competency rather than time served.

Delivered across the Blue Tongue Group

2009

Upskilling since

1,000+

Australian trades upskilled

2,200+

Full-time trades employed

Part of

Blue Tongue

What we do

We specialise in high-demand, critical skills and employment areas.

Built because the training we needed didn’t exist.

We focus on the trades, skills and employment areas where industry faces genuine workforce and capability challenges.

Blue Tongue has been developing and upskilling tradespeople since 2009. As an employer, we repeatedly found that the training available did not align with the work our projects required. So we built an RTO that does. As a group employing over 2,200 full-time trades, we saw the gap firsthand with our own people.

Every qualification on our scope exists because employers need the capability behind it.

We train our own apprentices and other companies’ apprentices to the same standard.

The gap in the market

Combining workforce planning with recruitment, hiring and selection, upskilling (formal training), and workforce management.

Apprentices training in the Blue Tongue Training workshop

On scope · WA

Electrical Trades

Including Mobile and Fixed Plant Mining, Renewables, Infrastructure, Data Centres and Defence.

In consultation

Plumbing

CPC32420 Certificate III in Plumbing is in industry consultation. Not yet on scope.

On scope · National

Rail Signalling

Certificate IV upskilling for licensed electricians.

On scope · National

Fabrication and Welding

Certificate III pathway.

What employers tell us

A qualification proves someone finished. It does not prove they can perform at work.

What employers tell us.

The training is too generic and does not create capability

Training looked good on paper, but it did not reflect our site.

A qualification does not prove performance

It records completion. It does not tell me what work I can safely assign them.

Training runs on academic calendars

Training schedules rarely line up with project schedules.

Delivery is transactional, not dynamic

Providers lack the flexibility to move when the project moves, so the training is bought rather than built.

Little industry engagement

Training providers who are not close to our industry struggle to keep up with how quickly things change.

Public intake fills the classroom

When classrooms are full, our apprentices get less time on the tools and less time with the trainer.

The base trade alone does not cover every specialist environment

A qualified tradesperson is not automatically ready for every specialist environment.

Good trainers are hard to find, and harder to keep current

Too much training is delivered by people who have been away from the tools for too long.

Somewhere along the way, training lost its value.

Our delivery model

Building workforce capability, not just apprentices.

The goal is not to complete an apprenticeship. The goal is to develop people who can add value on the job sooner and continue building their skills throughout their careers. The opportunity is to do this in a way the traditional apprenticeship model was never designed to do.

Six ways we have re-wired trade training.

1 · Employer built and project driven

We start with the job outcome, then build training around the skills needed to deliver it. Delivered when industry needs it, not when a timetable says it should happen.

2 · We recognise what your people can already do

Prior experience should be recognised, not ignored. Existing capability is mapped and recognised before training begins, so training develops capability rather than revisiting existing competence.

3 · Competency, not time served

Progression is driven by demonstrated capability against real work. Assessment mirrors the job.

4 · Industry specialist trainers

Specialist focus, not generalist coverage. Trainers who have done the job in the industries they teach, and who stay connected to current work practices, equipment and standards.

5 · Capped classrooms

Smaller cohorts and greater trainer engagement, so there is more hands-on learning for every student.

6 · More workshop, less classroom

Learning by doing, in fit-for-purpose workshops with industry equipment and training rigs, supported by digital tools and VR.

From a qualification to capability you can schedule.

A certificate shows someone completed training. It does not tell a supervisor what work they can safely assign on Monday morning. We track four levels against every skill, so it does.

Supervised performance

Can complete the task correctly under supervision.

Perform independently

Can be left to do the task without a second set of eyes.

Plan

Can scope and sequence the work before it starts.

Control

Can take responsibility for the job, and for others doing it.

What the supervisor sees

What each person can do, what supervision they still require, and where they can contribute on a live project.

Between the blocks

Workplace engagement, coaching and progress reviews continue between training blocks, not only during them.

Competency over time served takes time out of the pathway.

Capability recognised

Consultation first. We start with what your people can already do, not with how long they have been doing it.

Progress on evidence

Measured on demonstrated competency, rather than time served.

More support, faster progression

More support for those who need it, and faster progression for those who are ready.

Delivered under RTO 1623

What we deliver now, and what we are building next.

Everything we deliver or are developing is driven by employer demand. We add a qualification when the workforce demand is there, not when a calendar says so.

Delivering now

Industrial electrical

UEE30820 Western Australia

The core of the RTO. Trade qualification through to HV mobile plant, fixed plant, renewables, infrastructure, defence, oil and gas and data centres, including automotive electrician to HV mobile plant electrician.

Rail signalling

UEE41223 National

Qualified electricians upskilled into signalling for rail and transport operators.

Fabrication and production

MEM31925, MEM20219 National

Engineering fabrication and production technology for the resources, defence and construction sectors.

Units of competency

TLIC3402 National

Single units delivered standalone where a full qualification is not what the workforce needs, such as Operate Coach / Bus.

In consultation

Plumbing

CPC32420 In consultation

Certificate III in Plumbing is in industry consultation, for construction and industrial specialisation.

Surface preparation and coating

MSM30216 In consultation

In consultation with industry, driven by defence demand.

Consultation is open, which is the point at which an employer can still shape what gets built.

Electrical apprentice training is delivered from Perth and across Western Australia, with blocks set around your project rather than an academic calendar.

How we work with employers

We start with your problem, not a course list.

01 · Consultation

Define the outcome

What the work needs to look like, and by when.

02 · Consultation

Map existing capability

What your people can already do, evidenced rather than assumed.

03 · Consultation

Identify the gap

The specific difference between the two.

04 · Delivery

Design the pathway

Units, sequence and delivery built around your project.

05 · Delivery

Build specialisation

Into the equipment, systems and site conditions your work depends on.

06 · Delivery

Train and assess

Workshop, site and assessment that mirrors the job.

07 · Employer input

Track capability

Live visibility for the apprentice, the trainer and the supervisor.

Specialist electrical capability

Demand is rising. Specialist capability must keep pace.

Trade qualification

UEE30820 Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician. The underpinning qualification.

Industry specialisation

The systems, plant and standards of the sector the work sits in.

Site and equipment capability

The specific assets, procedures and risk on your site.

A trade qualification creates the foundation. Specialisation is built on top of it. Every electrical apprentice completes UEE30820, then progresses into pathways aligned to the work, industries and technologies shaping the future of the trade.

Excavator loading a haul truck at a mine site

01 — Mobile plant mining (BEV / HEV)

Battery electric and hybrid plant arriving faster than the licensed workforce that can work on it. Delivered as a trade pathway, or as an upskill program from automotive electrician to HV mobile plant electrician.

LV and HV systemsMotors and controlDC-AC conversionIsolationBEV diagnostics

Industrial switchgear and variable speed drives at a mine processing plant

02 — Fixed plant mining

Mine expansions, new processing infrastructure, electrification upgrades and shutdown cycles are increasing demand for fixed plant electricians, while mining competes with infrastructure, renewables and data centres for the same electrical workforce.

Motors and drivesProcessing circuitInstrumentationPLC and SCADAEEHA

Solar panels, wind turbines and battery storage at sunset

03 — Renewables and infrastructure

Renewable generation, battery storage, transmission upgrades and new substations are creating sustained demand for electricians with capability beyond the trade qualification, particularly across HV, protection, controls and commissioning.

Installation and cablingSubstationsUtility generationStorageControl and automation

Data centre server racks

04 — Data centre

Rapid data centre construction is driving demand for electricians who understand critical power, UPS systems, redundancy, communications and cooling infrastructure. Specialist capability that is not typically developed through the standard electrical trade pathway.

TransformersCritical power and UPSRedundancyCommunicationsHVAC

The same model is being built beyond electrical. Fabrication and welding, and surface preparation and coating, for defence. Plumbing, for construction and industrial specialisation. All in development.

Cutting edge technology

Cutting edge technology that drives our model.

Capability, made visible

— Live visibility of skills, evidence and demonstrated capability

— Learners take ownership of their development

— Supervisors can match work to demonstrated capability

— Competency gates verify readiness, not just attendance

— VR supports safe rehearsal of high-risk activities

See capability

▫

A single live picture

The apprentice, the trainer and the employer all see where things stand and what is coming next, so an apprentice can drive their own progression rather than wait to be told, and a supervisor can schedule work against a live, practical view of what each person can do. Nobody chases reports. Competency gates and required evidence verify capability, not attendance. Built in house by an employer, and tested on our own people in the field first.

Rehearse capability

◯

Experience before exposure

Virtual reality allows apprentices to safely practise high-risk, high-consequence and low-frequency work before they encounter it on site. Some lessons are better learned before stepping onto site. Some work is dangerous. Some is expensive. Electrical isolation, testing, fault finding and risk management can be repeated until the process becomes routine. The lesson sticks, especially when they have experienced what happens when it goes wrong.

BTR Virtual Reality currently supports Electrical Trades, Mining Mobile Plant Maintenance, Load & Haul Operations, Bus Operator Safety, Assessment and Selection, Diagnostics, and Critical Risks and Controls.

See the VR training →

What changes for the employer

What changes for the employer.

Four outcomes employers can expect.

Capability available sooner

Existing capability is recognised, practical skills are developed earlier, and people become useful contributors faster.

Less guesswork for the supervisors

Live competency evidence replaces guesswork, so crew planning and task allocation get easier, and an apprentice can see exactly where they stand.

Training that keeps pace with the business

As your projects, plant and scopes change, the training changes with them. Capability can be added or redirected without starting again.

People stay in your business longer

People see a clear development path into meaningful specialist work, improving engagement, increasing retention and strengthening long-term workforce capability.

Proof

Bring us the problem, not the course code.

Most of what is on our scope is here because an employer came to us with a workforce challenge nobody else was solving. An electrician working on rail signalling control cabinets

BHP needed rail signalling technicians. There was no pipeline, so we built one.

Case study · Rail signalling

The problem

A shortage of rail signalling technicians, and no local training pathway to draw on.

What we did

Put UEE41223 on scope, and employed a trainer assessor out of the industry to deliver it.

The model

Twelve qualified industrial electricians upskilled into rail signalling over 24 months.

The result

98% retention at the three year mark from the program.

Bus and coach operations

Go West needed drivers assessed to a consistent standard across a growing fleet. TLIC3402 Operate Coach / Bus went on scope as a standalone unit of competency, with drivers selected and trained through our managed workforce division. It has since given them the capability to compete for more contracts, and to set the standard for how new drivers come into the industry.

Fabrication and welding

Defence and construction programs are heading into a significant shortage of fabricator welders, so we put the qualifications on scope ahead of it. We have answered a shortage at this scale before: when industry needed light vehicle mechanics converted into heavy diesel mechanics, Blue Tongue built the program and managed its delivery for more than 1,000 tradespeople.

We use the system on our own workforce

Our own apprentices come through this RTO.

Blue Tongue apprentices standing with a wheel loader

Through our Managed Group Training division, mature age workers with transferable skills are selected and employed, carried through an upfront training block of up to eight weeks at our cost, then supervised on a client’s site on a pathway to a qualification. Compliance, supervision and training sit with us, not with the client.

The quality of this training is tested on our own people long before a client ever sees it. The same programs, trainers and standard are what we deliver for other companies’ apprentices.

Managed Group Training, Blue Tongue Skills and Blue Tongue Power sit alongside the RTO if you want more than training — employment, supervision, crews on site.

None of it is a condition of training with us.

Managed Group Training →

Common questions

Electrical apprentice training in Perth and WA.

Can we put our own apprentices through Blue Tongue Training?

Yes. We train our own apprentices and other companies’ apprentices to the same standard. No other Blue Tongue service is a condition of training with us.

What electrical qualification do you deliver?

UEE30820 Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician. Scope approved for Western Australia.

Where is the electrical apprentice training delivered?

From Perth and across Western Australia. Blocks are set around your project.

How is the training scheduled?

Around workforce demand rather than a semester timetable — delivery when capability is needed, progression on demonstrated capability rather than time served.

Do you recognise skills an apprentice already has?

Yes. Applicable experience is credited and RPL applied, so training develops what is next rather than repeating what someone already knows.

Do you deliver plumbing apprenticeships?

Not yet. CPC32420 Certificate III in Plumbing is in industry consultation. Fabrication and rail signalling are on scope now — MEM31925, MEM20219 and UEE41223.

Next step

Tell us what capability your workforce needs in two to three years.

We will come back with a capability map, an intake plan and a delivery schedule that fits.

Talk to us

Perth — Head Office

2/251 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000

Phone

(08) 6365 1860

Melbourne

16 Acacia Place, Abbotsford VIC 3067

Brisbane

(07) 3171 2202

contact@blue-tongue.com.au

Web

blue-tongue.com.au

Blue Tongue Training (RTO 1623)

Our Programs

New and exciting employment projects to be released in 2025.

Rail Signalling Upskill Opportunities

Bus Operator Training and Assessment Centre - Workforce Management

Other Training Programs

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Complaint and Appeal Form

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