RPL for Certificate III in ESI - Rail Traction

Certificate III in ESI - Rail Traction takes 28 units. Through Recognition of Prior Learning, each unit is assessed on evidence of work you have already done rather than on training you sit through.

What the assessment looks at

Every unit sets out what you must be able to do and what you must know. An assessor works through them one at a time, asking the same question each time: does this person's evidence show they can do this reliably, in a real workplace, recently enough to count?

You can read the full requirements for UET30721 on the national training register. They are public, and worth a look before you spend anything — if the units describe work you have never done, RPL is not your route.

Evidence worth gathering before you start

• Photos of completed jobs, ideally showing a few stages of the same job, with their original dates intact.
• Job sheets, dockets, work orders or site diaries covering a spread of jobs.
• Supervisors, employers or clients who will confirm specifically what you did.
• Any licences or tickets you already hold.

How the guided process works

You work through the 28 units one at a time, talking about jobs you have actually done. You can speak rather than type. Add photos as you find them, and stop whenever you like — progress saves itself, and most people spread this over weeks while they dig out records. At the end you have an evidence portfolio your RTO's assessor can work through.

What this does not do

It does not assess you, and it cannot promise you UET30721. An assessor at a registered training organisation makes that decision and may require further evidence or training. What a complete portfolio buys you is a fair assessment rather than a rejection over paperwork.

See what UET30721 involves →

The 28 units you complete, chosen from these 40

You do not do all 40. Certificate III in ESI - Rail Traction is 26 core units, which everyone does, plus 2 chosen from the 14 electives below. Read both lists before you spend anything — it is the fastest way to tell whether RPL is your route. If most of this describes work you have done, you have a case to make. If whole sections describe work you have never touched, an assessor will say so, and doing the course is the honest answer.

Worth knowing: 29 of them have a prerequisite unit, so the order you gather evidence in matters.

Core units — everyone does these

• AHCMOM213 — Operate and maintain chainsaws
• CPCCLDG3001 — Licence to perform dogging
• CPCCLRG3001 — Licence to perform rigging basic level
• TLILIC0005 — Licence to operate a boom-type elevating work platform (boom length 11 metres or more)
• UEECD0007 — Apply work health and safety regulations, codes and practices in the workplace
• UEECD0019 — Fabricate, assemble and dismantle utilities industry components
• UEECD0044 — Solve problems in multiple path circuits
• UEECD0046 — Solve problems in single path circuits
• UEECD0051 — Use drawings, diagrams, schedules, standards, codes and specifications
• UEEEL0020 — Solve problems in low voltage a.c. circuits
• UEEEL0021 — Solve problems in magnetic and electromagnetic devices
• UETDREL001 — Apply environmental requirements
• UETDREL004 — Operate plant and equipment in the vicinity of live electrical apparatus
• UETDREL005 — Work safely in the vicinity of live electrical apparatus
• UETDRIS007 — Install and maintain distribution overhead conductors and cables
• UETDRIS012 — Install and maintain poles, structures and hardware
• UETDRRT001 — Install overhead rail traction configurations
• UETDRRT002 — Install overhead traction components and equipment
• UETDRRT003 — Install rail traction bonds
• UETDRRT004 — Install traction overhead wiring systems
• UETDRRT008 — Maintain overhead rail traction configurations
• UETDRRT009 — Maintain overhead traction components and equipment
• UETDRRT010 — Maintain rail traction bonds
• UETDRRT011 — Maintain traction overhead wiring systems
• UETDRRT012 — Operate rail road height access plant near rail traction systems
• UETDRRT014 — Test and verify rail traction installations

Electives — you choose from these

• CPCCLRG3002 — Licence to perform rigging intermediate level
• TLILIC0003 — Licence to operate a forklift truck
• TLILIC0022 — Licence to operate a slewing mobile crane (up to 20 tonnes)
• TLILIC0024 — Licence to operate a vehicle loading crane (capacity 10 metre tonnes and above)
• TLILIC2015 — Licence to drive a medium rigid vehicle
• TLILIC2016 — Licence to drive a heavy rigid vehicle
• UETDRAI001 — Inspect and test poles at and below ground level
• UETDRAI004 — Treat poles
• UETDRDO001 — Inspect overhead poles, structures and electrical apparatus
• UETDRDO005 — Maintain overhead energised low voltage distribution network
• UETDRIS008 — Install and maintain electrical apparatus
• UETDRRT013 — Perform rail traction switching operations to a given schedule
• UETDRSB001 — Perform substation switching operations to a given schedule
• UETDRVC003 — Control vegetation for powerline work

Each unit breaks down further into elements and performance criteria — the specific things you have to be able to show. The guide works through them one unit at a time and asks about jobs you have actually done, rather than making you read the register yourself.

Related qualifications

Same training package, and a common second choice for people who find this one is not quite their trade:

• Certificate III in ESI - Distribution Overhead (UET30621, 24 units)
• Certificate III in ESI - Transmission Overhead (UET30521, 19 units)

More RPL in electrotechnology and energy

Every qualification in this industry, which of them have a guide ready, and what assessors here accept as evidence: RPL in electrotechnology and energy.

When you are ready, see what UET30721 costs and what the guide asks you for, or read what counts as evidence and how RPL compares with doing the course.