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Targetted Training for the Electricity Supply Industry
Award Course Structure and Implementation
Innovative Features and Flexibility
Para-Professional Entry to Award Courses
Our Presenters (not yet available)

Targeted Training for the Electricity Supply Industry

In the early 1990s, the Queensland electricity supply industry (QESI) was becoming increasingly concerned about the likely implications of the national emphasis on infrastructure reform and the progression towards a more competitive environment. The increased commercial focus of the industry was placing greater emphasis on the efficient use of assets and a reduction of operating costs and there was a growing awareness that the future training and education of electrical engineers in the electricity supply industry needed to be on highly efficient, industry-relevant skills formation, to enable frequent and rapid deployment of professional skills in new areas.

With the greater commercial focus in the industry, it was important that any investment in the training of industry personnel generated value-adding behaviour in the workplace and therefore, in order to maximise the return on the training of professional engineers, it was felt that the first step was to identify the engineering competencies which add value to the electricity supply industry. This meant identifying competencies needed to develop, operate and maintain industry assets in a way which would generate the greatest return on those assets. As a consequence, in 1992, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the Queensland Electricity Commission (QEC)-now Powerlink Queensland and a number of generation corporations--and South East Queensland Electricity Board (SEQEB)-now Energex--entered a collaborative arrangement to develop competency standards for engineers in the electricity supply industry and to design and deliver industry-specific training modules for these personnel.

Award Course Structure and Implementation

The basic training modules (units) in the program were primarily designed to provide highly relevant training for electricity utility engineers in specified areas. With a 15 contact-hour unit it was recognised that it would not be possible to cover many of the more complex topics in the presentation time available. In many professional development courses, the response to this problem is to provide voluminous amounts of material for participants and hope that they ingest something useful. The QUT approach is different because units are designed to facilitate teaching of material so that participants gain demonstrable skills with which they will be able to add value to their organisations.

A pre-requisite structure has been established through which participants can start to develop their skills and knowledge by studying some of the more basic and generic units first and build on these studies with more advanced units later. It is not mandatory that participants follow the prerequisite structure since some students have considerable knowledge and experience in industry (prior learning) and often attend only the more advanced units. The prerequisite requirements and general approach to teaching and learning in the training program has meant that it has been possible to accredit the program as an academic award of QUT whereby students may gain a series of articulated awards viz. graduate certificate, graduate diploma and Master of Engineering Science.

To gain the Graduate Certificate (Electricity Supply) students must accumulate 48 credit points by completing 12 units with a total of 180 hours of formal contact time. This can be done in one semester full-time or two semesters part-time. Award of the Graduate Diploma (Electricity Supply) requires completion of 24 units with a total of 360 contact hours over two semesters full-time or four semesters part-time.

In the Master of Engineering Science (Electricity Supply) students complete 18 units and are required to undertake 100 days of supervised industry practice in the electricity supply industry or an industry that can provide the necessary specialised experience. A practitioner's thesis is required to be submitted that will demonstrate that a student has attained advanced technical skills, a detailed understanding of the specific area of industry involvement and that the student can apply a wide range of knowledge to solve complex engineering problems. A thesis supervisor from university and a supervisor from industry who has regular work-place contact with the student, liaise closely to ensure that the nature of the project work performed by the student is appropriate and that the standard of the thesis is satisfactory.

The M Eng Sc (Electricity Supply) is different from a traditional masters with a narrow research-based focus because it is intended to educate professional engineers in application areas requiring a combination of high level skills from engineering and other disciplines.

Innovative Features and Flexibility

The courses which have been developed represent an innovative and flexible approach in the design and delivery of postgraduate award courses based on industry competencies for professional personnel:

1. The courses enable not only electricity supply engineers to complete a postgraduate award - viz Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma or M Eng Sc in Electricity Supply, but also make provision for Para-professional personnel (in particular, experienced technical officers holding an Advanced Diploma or Associate Diploma) to gain a postgraduate award - viz Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma in Electricity Supply.
2. The course units are based on industry competency standards which focus on the knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes that the competent professional engineer is required to possess - not on some preconceived idea of what a postgraduate student should be taught.
3. The courses are taught jointly by practising engineers from the electricity supply industry, consultancy companies and electrical manufacturers (75%) and university academic staff (25%) using industry facilities where relevant.
4. The course structure provides for part-time or full-time study towards a postgraduate award or just study in selected units relevant to a student's workplace needs.
5. Courses are based on a flexible, modular design of 15 hours instruction time per unit (or equivalent) rather than the standard 42 hour semester length unit.
6. Students can take advantage of mixed-mode presentation and delivery techniques - studies can be completed by a combination of 2 1/2 day shortcourses or 12 week resource-based learning modules (i.e. distance education).
7. Courses are full-fee paying and course units have a flexible fee structure dependent on mode of delivery and specific services included.
8. There is flexible enrolment in, or cancellation of, course units - generally enrolment in a unit can be effected just prior to the start of the unit.
9. The M Eng Sc requires a thesis based on 100 days of paid, supervised industry practice rather than a narrow research project.
10. Shortcourses can be presented in Brisbane or regional, interstate or overseas venues on contract.
11. Credit may be given for successfully completed relevant studies in other accredited award courses at other tertiary institutions.

Para-Professional Entry to Award Courses

These industry-specific courses which are based on electricity supply industry competencies are unique and, apart from being adopted by the industry as suitable training courses for engineers, have provided the industry with a core of units which are also regarded as appropriate for many Para-Professional employees. QUT has now determined that students without a degree may be admitted to the graduate certificate and the graduate diploma if the QUT course coordinator approves the application after reference to the applicant's industry experience and qualifications.

The industry has also indicated an interest in jointly designing further course units to specifically address competencies required by Para-Professional employees in the electricity supply industry and these units will also be available to professional engineers. It is anticipated that during 2004-2005 course units will be developed in the following areas:

• Maintenance management
• Risk and reliability
• Introduction to distribution network operations
• Quality of supply in distribution networks
• Economic analysis and financial management

The success of these innovative training courses can be measured by student participation - in the ten years to the end of 2003, nearly 57,500 student hours of professional training units (i.e. approximately 3,850 student unit enrolments) had been presented to over 1100 personnel.