In December 2022, the Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) and Clean Energy Council (CEC) announced major updates to the training units for small-scale renewables. The training units have been significantly restructured to reflect the updated skills and knowledge required to work on PV, battery and stand alone energy systems, as well as covering updated standards, regulations and licensing requirements.

These changes came after extensive review and recommendations from the CEC and other industry representatives, and represent the first major upgrade to the training units in over 10 years. They were designed to address skills shortages, raise industry standards, and create more jobs to support Australia’s clean energy transition.

Design unit pathway changes

One of the biggest changes made to the units used for accreditation is the introduction of a new electrical design pathway which is now open for anyone to undertake. Previously, only engineers and electricians were eligible to enrol in design accreditation courses, and therefore only engineers and electricians could become accredited designers. However a new electrical principles course is now available for non-electricians. This is a prerequisite pathway to the design units, meaning that anyone can now access design accreditation courses and complete the required training units to become accredited designers.

The only requirement before attempting the design units, if you are not an electrician, is that you must complete the electrical principles prerequisite unit. This unit is offered either as a full course which is a great starting point if you do not have an electrical background, or as an exam if you already have strong electrical knowledge e.g. you are an electrical engineer.

Engineers or others who are already experienced in electrical design can use this course as Recognition of Prior Learning for their previous electrical training, by simply completing the course assessments without needing to revise the provided learning materials. This provides an efficient pathway into vocational Nationally Recognised Training for qualified engineers who were previously restricted by lengthy prerequisite requirements.

Are the design unit changes good for the industry?

Yes! Increasing access to the design units will ensure that everybody designing PV, battery and Stand Alone Systems are doing so with the formal training required to design compliant, safe and reliable systems. These new units will also assist in upskilling other job roles, in particular site surveyors, sales and support teams, which addresses the current skills and job shortage in the renewables industry. This upskilling will ease the burden on electricians, improve collaboration across roles, raise standards in renewables infrastructure, and increase customer confidence.

Accreditation pathways with the new units

As an overview, there are three main accreditation types: Grid-Connect Solar PV accreditation, the Grid-Connected Battery Storage accreditation and the Stand-Alone Power Systems accreditation. Each of these three accreditation types has three variations: design only, install only or both install and design. The variant you choose depends on whether you want to become an accredited installer, an accredited designer or both, and this will impact which units of competency you will be required to complete. 

Accreditation pathway for electricians

If you are a registered electrician or an electrical apprentice, you are eligible to become an accredited designer, installer or both. 

Design and Install Accreditation Pathway

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Design Only Accreditation Pathway

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Install Only Accreditation Pathway

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Accreditation pathway for non-electricians

Non-electricians can become accredited in the design variants of all three courses. As discussed above, if you are not an electrician, you must first complete a prerequisite course before enrolling for the grid-connect, battery or SAPS courses. Once you have completed this, you can begin with your accreditation courses.

Our recommended accreditation pathway for non-electricians is outlined below:

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Accreditation pathway for engineers

If you are an electrical engineer or have a strong electrical background, we understand that you may not need to complete the entire electrical principles course to pass this unit. As an alternative, we also offer this unit in an exam format, which is only a fraction of the price of the full course. Once the exam is passed, you will receive a Statement of Attainment in the electrical principles unit and then be eligible to enrol in our accreditation courses.

Our recommended accreditation pathway for engineers with a strong electrical background is outlined below:

We hope this article was helpful, and as always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions!