Fitter and turner apprenticeship pathway

The qualification and the two streams

The trade qualification is the Certificate III in Engineering - Mechanical Trade (MEM30219). It is still the current code on training.gov.au, now at Release 4 from September 2025 after the MEM training package update. It needs 96 points of units, including 33 points of core units.

Within that one qualification there are two main streams. Fitting covers maintenance, bearings, drives, hydraulics, pneumatics, alignment and assembly. Machining covers lathe, milling and CNC work. Your employer and training provider choose your electives together, so most apprentices lean one way while learning the basics of both.

Ways to get in

• •Direct with an employer: engineering workshops, machine shops, maintenance contractors, factories, utilities and mines hire apprentices directly
• •Group training organisation (GTO): the GTO is your legal employer and places you with host businesses, which can mean variety and a backup if a host runs out of work
• •Mining company programs: BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue run apprentice intakes, mostly in WA and Queensland
• •School-based apprenticeship: start part time while you finish Year 11 and 12, with credit towards your trade
• •Pre-apprenticeship: the Certificate II in Engineering Pathways gives you workshop basics and makes you more attractive to employers, and some units may count towards your apprenticeship

Mining and FIFO apprenticeships

Mining companies are some of the biggest employers of mechanical apprentices. Rio Tinto says it offers hundreds of early career opportunities each year across Western Australia, including apprenticeships. Fortescue runs apprenticeship and traineeship programs over 12 months to 4 years, covering trades including fixed plant mechanics, with TAFE and offsite training, and its apprentices are rotated around its sites. BHP has run its FutureFit Academy for people new to the industry, so check its careers page for current intakes.

These spots are competitive. Expect online applications, aptitude testing, medicals and drug and alcohol tests. Some are FIFO and some are residential in mining towns. Fixed plant maintenance on a mine is mostly fitting work, so if you want to be a machinist, a workshop apprenticeship may suit you better.

The training contract and probation

Once you have a job offer, you and your employer sign a training contract, with help from an Apprenticeship Connect Australia provider. The contract is registered with your state or territory training authority and sets out the qualification, your training provider and whether you are full time, part time or school based.

There is a probation period at the start where either side can end the contract more easily. In Victoria it is 90 days for this qualification. Other states set their own rules, so check with your Apprenticeship Connect Australia provider.

How long it takes and competency-based progression

The usual term is up to 4 years full time. In Victoria, for example, the maximum is 48 months full time and 72 months part time. Off-the-job training often wraps up in about three years, with some providers running one day a week and others running blocks of a week or two.

Progression is competency based. You move through your pay stages and finish when you have shown you can do the work to standard and your employer and RTO sign you off, not just when the calendar says so. Good apprentices can finish early. Slow logbooks and missed TAFE blocks can drag it out.

Adult and mature-age apprentices

You can start at any age. The Manufacturing award has adult apprentice rates that are higher than junior rates, and some employers actively hire mature-age apprentices. If you already have mechanical, welding or machining experience, ask about recognition of prior learning so you are not repeating what you already know. Use the Fair Work Pay Calculator to check what you would be paid.

Licences and tickets at the end

There is no state licence for fitters and turners. Your completed apprenticeship and Certificate III in Engineering - Mechanical Trade (MEM30219) are your trade papers.

Most fitters collect extra tickets along the way, depending on where they work.

• •High risk work licences such as forklift, elevating work platform over 11 metres, dogging and rigging, issued by your state work health and safety regulator
• •Mine site inductions and, in Queensland coal mines, the specific induction training required by Resources Safety and Health Queensland
• •Confined space, working at heights, isolation and first aid tickets
• •A security clearance for some defence and shipbuilding jobs

What comes after your trade

The two most common moves after a few years on the tools are into maintenance planning and supervision. Planners schedule maintenance and shutdowns and order the parts. Supervisors run the crews. Both are in demand on mine sites and in big plants, and both value real trade experience.

If you want more study, the MEM training package includes the Certificate IV in Engineering (MEM40119), the Diploma of Engineering - Advanced Trade (MEM50119) and the Advanced Diploma of Engineering (MEM60122). These can lead into reliability, condition monitoring, design and engineering associate roles, and some people go on to a uni engineering degree.

• •Specialise: CNC programming, hydraulics, rotating equipment, condition monitoring or shutdown work
• •Go to the mines: plenty of fitters do their time in town and head to mining once qualified
• •Start your own business: a small machine shop or a maintenance contracting outfit

Where the demand is

Fitter and Turner is rated as in shortage nationally and in every state and territory on the 2025 Occupation Shortage List. Western Australia has about 27 per cent of all metal fitters and machinists and Queensland about 25 per cent, according to Jobs and Skills Australia, which tells you where the mining work is.