A new batch of operator trainees has started learning the ins and outs of how a coal-fired power station works at Callide Power Station.
The group is the latest intake to CS Energy’s Trainee Operator Program, providing a pipeline of talent to prevent future skills shortages and creating career opportunities and new skillsets for existing employees.
Five internal trainees - Nigel Atfield, Dan Henricksen, Brady McMillan, Troy O’Leary, and Ben Vakararawa - are training with a cohort of experienced operators from Callide, in conjunction with registered training organisation LSA Power.
Joining them are three external trainees - Bryon Hassall, Dominique Woodrow, and Darren Morris – who are already ticketed operators.
The trainees are learning how to become competent in various plant and equipment as they work towards achieving their Licence to operate an advanced boiler and Licence to operate an advanced steam turbine.
Operations Training Coordinator Troy Lonsdale said the training program has been underway for over a decade, with a new group starting the 24-month long program as the business requires.
“The operations team looks ahead and identifies where opportunities exist, projecting forward where there’s a need to bring in some new people via succession planning or open roles,” said Troy.
While there is a strong theoretical aspect to provide the underpinning knowledge, one of the biggest parts of the training is working with existing shift operators.
“There’s a fair bit of workload for them to take in; the plant-specifics are made up of theoretical in the classroom, where they do the theory component of the relevant modules, and then they go and do the practical on shift, on plant to consolidate that learning.
“Trainees learn from seeing and doing on a daily basis while being exposed to shifts,” he said.
“Then they return to the classroom and learn about the next area.”
Troy said that this year’s trainees have a combination of non-trade, electrical, and mechanical backgrounds.
“They’re passionate, driven, and keen to learn; all of them are appreciative of the opportunity they’ve been provided and what lies ahead of them.”
A varied path
One of the trainees, Brady McMillan, started with CS Energy in 2010 as a contractor in the Health and Safety Department and has held several roles including an Electrical and Instrumentation Apprenticeship, Senior Tradesperson, and Callide Electrical Maintenance (CEM) Supervisor. He said he has always been attracted to positions he can learn from.
“I have a general desire to learn and expand my knowledge in practical areas of process and power generation,” he said.
“The current training has been great; the personnel from the operations team running us through our modules have a great deal of knowledge that they are happy to pass on to us.
“It has been great to be involved with such a keen group of people from different backgrounds, sharing our different maintenance experiences and learning off each other throughout the traineeship,” he said.
“I’m learning a vast range of processes within our industry that I have walked past for years and not fully understood. I hope this learning and understanding allows me to progress into the operations team as a competent, confident operator in the future.”