Supercharging the workforce of the future
New training partnership to build essential skills for modern grid transformation
Endeavour Energy and Thomson Bridge today announced a new collaboration that will deliver essential safety and skills training for workers in the NSW energy and infrastructure sectors.
Commencing this month, workers and contractors who are involved in developing, operating and maintaining electrically significant infrastructure will have access to short courses and training at Endeavour Energy’s state-of-the-art training facility in Hoxton Park, to gain the qualifications essential for their work.
Delivered by Australia’s leading Registered Training Operator (RTO) for the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI), Thomson Bridge, the training aims to build the necessary skills to support the NSW Government’s significant pipeline of new energy infrastructure including the regional Renewable Energy Zones (REZs), and other critical infrastructure including transmission lines, rail networks and the growing pipeline of infrastructure required for the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
Endeavour Energy General Manager Andrew Pitman said the partnership seeks to address anticipated workforce skills shortages and aims to deliver a highly skilled and adaptable workforce ready for the future.
“Endeavour Energy is thrilled to partner with Thomson Bridge to lead the way in training the workforce of the future. As the electricity network that builds, maintains and supplies power to over 2.6 million people living and working in the some of the fastest growing regions of NSW, we are committed to supporting the future workforce required to deliver a renewable and more sustainable energy future.
“Critical to the success of these transformational projects is teaching workers and contractors to safely build, operate and maintain electrically significant infrastructure.
“We see this as an opportunity to contribute to the development of a skilled workforce for NSW by providing access to this purpose-built training facility for the development of practical powerline, substation and cable jointing skills for the workforce of the future,” Mr Pitman said.
Thomson Bridge’s Managing Director Lisa Parkinson said the training will cater for new contractors entering the industry as well as experienced workers transitioning their career paths.
“Our collaboration with Endeavour Energy will create best in breed skills and thinking and will be agile and responsive to industry needs with programs introduced based on the demand for new and essential skills.
“The first courses available will include high voltage operations, cable jointing and basic safety training for wind farm access. We also see a need to offer full qualification pathways for new and experienced workers in overhead powerline qualifications for electricity and rail networks.”
There is also a growing demand from project managers and engineers for practical supervisory level technical training such as best practice in cable jointing and installation, and for engineering services that support safe high voltage operations such as arc flash calculations and drafting or reviewing electrical safety rules.“
Key sectors to benefit from this initiative include distribution and transmission networks, renewable energy assets, light and heavy rail networks, together with heavy industry and utilities that operate high voltage plant to perform their business, such as airports, data centres, and water utilities.
To find out more about the training programs on offer, visit Thomson Bridge: Training courses - Hoxton Park.
Media contacts: Peter Payne, Endeavour Energy, (0409) 664 608: Lisa Parkinson, Thomson Bridge, (0417) 766 890
About Endeavour Energy
Endeavour Energy supplies safe, reliable and affordable power to over 2.6 million people. It’s electricity distribution network spans over 25,000 square kilometres and is made up of more than 430,000 power poles and streetlight columns, 207 major substations and 32,600 distribution substations connected by nearly 60,600 kilometres (more than the distance from Sydney to London and back) of underground and overhead cables.
The Endeavour Energy network footprint includes Australia’s third largest economy, Sydney’s Greater West which includes Sydney’s second international airport, its surrounding Aerotropolis, and the NSW Government’s priority land release areas in North West and South West Sydney across Sydney’s Greater West, the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, the Illawarra and the South Coast.
About Thomson Bridge
Thomson Bridge is helping organisations meet the demands of the energy transition by providing workforce safety, skills and compliance services so that you can maintain a competent workforce; operate with safe and consistent work practices; and meet regulatory compliance and audit readiness.
We are a national provider of ESI training and electrical consulting services, developing essential electrical skills and safety leadership across renewable and thermal generation, transmission, distribution and rail networks, infrastructure, HV operations, control room and the power grid interface.
Our national team of ESI SMEs, engineers and learning & development (L&D) specialists bring a depth of knowledge, ability to communicate, and demonstrated safety leadership. They are passionate about passing on to new generations of workers how to assess hazards, determine and evaluate risks and implement sound decisions to operate safely, for themselves, their work party, and the network.
Published on Jul 13th 2022