Entry & progression
A workshop skill equivalent qualification is not a vibe. It is a list. It is named in the marine order, and holding one of the qualifications on it materially cuts the sea service you need at Grade 2 and Grade 1 - and at Grade 1 it replaces the certificate prerequisite entirely.
The list
- Certificate III in an engineering or mechanical trade
- Certificate III in electrical fitting
- Certificate III in automotive diesel engine technology
- Certificate III in automotive/mechanical - diesel fitter
- Certificate III in automotive/mechanical - heavy vehicle road transport
- Certificate III in automotive/mechanical - heavy vehicle mobile equipment, plant, earthmoving or agriculture
- Certificate III in automotive engine reconditioning
- Certificate IV in ESI generation maintenance - electrical electronics
- Certificate IV in ESI generation maintenance - mechanical
- Australian trade certificate - fitter and turner / machinist
- Australian trade certificate - diesel fitter
- Australian trade certificate - electrical fitter
- Australian Recognised Trade Certificates
- Any other approved qualification that includes workshop skills
Note the last line. It is a real limb, not a throwaway - AMSA retains discretion to approve a qualification that is not named. If yours is close but not listed, that is a question to put to AMSA, not a reason to give up. Put it in writing and get the answer in writing.
What it is worth
Look at what a heavy-vehicle diesel fitter walks in the door already holding.
| Grade | With trade + task book | Without trade, with task book | Without either |
|---|---|---|---|
| MED Grade 2 | 90 days | 180 days | 360 days |
| MED Grade 1 | 90 days | 120 days (needs MED 2 first) | 240 days |
TIP — At MED 2 the trade and the task book stack - and the trade is worth as much A tradesperson with no task book needs 180 days. A non-tradesperson with a task book needs the same 180 days. The two levers are worth about the same, and they multiply: hold both and it is 90 days; hold neither and it is 360.
Four times the sea time for exactly the same certificate. This is the single largest spread in the domestic engineering system.
At Grade 1 it does something different
At Grade 2 the trade is a discount. At Grade 1 it is a prerequisite in its own right. The Grade 1 rule requires sea service completed while holding either a MED Grade 2 or a workshop skill equivalent qualification - and the trade route is also the shorter one: 90 days with a task book, against 120 for the MED 2 holder.
So a diesel fitter coming off the mines can skip MED Grade 2 completely, do ninety documented days on vessels of 375 kW or more, sit the Certificate IV and the oral, and hold a certificate permitting chief engineer on 1500 kW of inboard plant. That is a very short path, and the trade is what buys it.
NOTE — If you have a trade, find this out first Before you plan a single sea day, establish in writing whether AMSA accepts your specific qualification as a workshop skill equivalent. The answer changes your required sea time by a factor of two to four and can remove an entire certificate from your path. It is the first phone call, not the last.