The Vocational Graduate Certificate in Refractories Engineering has been developed as a technical qualification for people who come to the industry with a relevant qualification, such as a Degree in science or engineering (or equivalent) and need specialist refractory knowledge.

This qualification was developed in response to an industry need for specialist refractories skills which are not provided by existing qualifications. There is no current Australian qualification for this target group. It has strong industry support and the qualification and its units of competency reflect the industry requirements. This qualification was developed in liaison with the Institute of Refractories Engineers Australian Branch.

Job roles/employment outcomes

Typical job roles for these people would be project engineer, maintenance engineer, purchasing engineer, area engineer, section manager, operations manager, project controller or project planner in a refractory area. Typically they will have some management/executive responsibility, but require technical competence in refractory related areas to complete this role.

Graduates from this Vocational Graduate Certificate in Refractories Engineering would be able to:

design new refractory installations

analyse refectory failures

specify refractory repairs

monitor and control new installations and repairs.

This requires knowledge of refractories and also structures.

This qualification applies to recent graduates or graduates with recent refractories experience. It may also be used by those with significant industry experience who wish to upgrade their skills or seek recognition for skills they already possess. Refractories are used by many industry sectors including:

power generation

oil refining

steel making

aluminium smelting

foundaries/casting

glass making

cement manufacture.

Packaging Rules

To be awarded the Vocational Graduate Certificate in Refractories Engineering competency must be achieved in ten (10) units of competency:

three (3) core units of competency

seven (7) elective units of competency chosen from Groups A and B, as described below.

Note: Prerequisite units are listed and must be considered in the total number of units chosen.

Core units of competency

Select all three (3) units from this list.

Elective units of competency

Group A - Specialist electives

A minimum of four (4) units must be selected from the list below.

Group B - Other electives

The balance of units, to a maximum of three (3), may be chosen in any combination from:

units not already chosen from Group A above

Group B units listed below

Entry requirements

Entrants to the Vocational Graduate Certificate in Refractories Engineering are required to have one of the following:

Bachelor Degree in Engineering or related discipline

Bachelor Degree in Science or related discipline

a relevant Diploma, such as the PMC60110 Advanced Diploma of Manufactured Mineral Products, together with significant relevant vocational practice

relevant extensive vocational practice without formal qualification or with a different qualification to those mentioned above.

For the purposes of this qualification, the term 'vocational practice' is defined as experience of:

designing of new refractory installations and/or repairs

project managing refractory installations

assisting in a significant way with the above.

Licensing considerations

There are no specific licences that relate to this qualification. However, depending on the jurisdiction, licensing or regulatory requirements may apply to the use of some units of competency in this qualification. Local regulations should be checked for details.