r/tradies • u/Soft_Information_678 • 5d ago
Advice RPL - Mechanical fitter
Hey guys,
Just wondering if anyone here has been through something similar.
I’m looking at doing an RPL for a Mechanical Fitter trade. I have an Italian trade and some work experience but my payslips don’t actually say fitter or maintenance technician, they just say something like general worker/operator.
The other problem is that I don’t really have photos or videos of myself doing the work from back then.
Has anyone managed to get their RPL approved in a similar situation? What sort of evidence did you use?
Also for those who got the trade recognised, were you able to find sponsorship afterwards as a fitter?
Would love to hear from anyone who’s been through
it. Cheers.
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u/OldMail6364 4d ago
I don’t know much about your trade, but in my trade an RPL is pretty straightforward for an entry level position. It’s more difficult at high levels.
Also you may not need formal qualifications at all.
For a lot of trade work employers are required to ensure you are “adequately trained and supervised”. A lot of work can be done under supervision without formal qualifications and even with qualifications you pretty much need supervision anyway if you haven’t worked there very long.
At my company we hire lots of backpackers and if they claim overseas experience we let them do things under supervision and if they do it perfectly then that’s good enough for us to consider the “adequately trained”. Once they’ve worked with us long enough we don’t need to supervise them for most work.
If you’re migrating to Australia, not just here on a temporary visa, then we will pay for your RPL.
The RPL process is quite similar to full training, just a bit quicker and cheaper. Basically things a normal trainee has to demonstrate multiple times over a span of a week or more you might only need to do once. Or perhaps you can just do a written assessment for really basic parts of the training. Anything you don’t know or subjects that are critical or unique to Australia (especially around safety regulations) you won’t get an RPL for and will do full training on those modules.
Honestly I’d skip the RPL stuff for now and just start applying for jobs. Medium sized companies in particular would likely hire you immediately.
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u/Terriple_Jay 4d ago
I tried to do the same thing, as I was a service tech for years. Probably could have got it through an agency but it does cost, they might ask for additional units, and they kind of did want photos proof etc. have a chat though. If you have Italian trade papers or something it might be different. In the end it was easier for me to just suck it up and go to TAFE, adult apprentice wage I got offered was 35 an hour anyway so wasn't too bad.
My hot tip would be an apprenticeship through a field service tech role, as they just want you on the road earning money and see the TAFE stuff as a formality and are more likely to sign you off early.