Practice to Proficiency: Civiltest’s Training Process
At Civiltest, there’s no such thing as being thrown in the deep end. Every new technician starts with a clear path forward—and plenty of support along the way.
A solid training ground
Whether it’s testing soil on remote worksites or analysing samples in the lab, Civiltest plays a key role in construction and engineering projects across Australia. And behind every accurate result is a technician who’s been trained with support, supervision, and hands-on experience.
“We assess each individual technician to determine the level they’re at—Partially Trained, Trained, or Fully Trained—and they work through structured face-to-face training to progress,” explains Joe Fuller, Civiltest’s Training Systems Manager.
At the Partially Trained stage, it’s all about exposure. New staff are shown the method or process and begin gaining hands-on experience. There’s lots of supervision, questions, and learning by doing.
From there, they move to the Trained level. Typically, after a few weeks to a few months, they understand the process and can perform tasks independently. “That’s usually where they have gained a suitable level of confidence,” says Joe.
The final step is Fully Trained. At this point, staff will work unsupervised, train and supervise others, and discuss lab results with clients. “Once at this level, they can be assessed as an Authorised Signatory,” says Joe.
Training isn’t a tick-box
At Civiltest, training isn’t something that happens once and gets ticked off—it’s part of how the work gets done every day.
“We build our training into the daily workflow. Everything follows a process, a documented test method, and a clear training system,” says Joe. “Every test performed must be checked by a senior technician as part of our NATA guidelines, but also to make sure we’re getting it right and providing real-time feedback to help people learn.”
Tasks are demonstrated, practised, reviewed, and repeated. This is supplemented by various training aids and tools. Once trainees arrive at the assessment period, trainers assess proficiency on-site through observation followed by a knowledge assessment to determine their understanding. “Depending on the difficulty of the task, within four weeks, they should understand the process and outcome and be able to perform the test unsupervised,” says Joe.
Beyond a job—training is a career path
Joe’s approach to training at Civiltest isn’t just about building skills—it’s about shaping careers. It’s about equipping technicians with more opportunities where they can travel for work, experience remote projects and have a varied daily routine.
“We want well-rounded technicians who can operate anywhere in the company,” he says.
“From annex technicians to future lab managers, many staff have fast-tracked their growth through application to training. And interestingly, some of our best trainers didn’t start with the most experience but had the aptitude and curiosity to grow.”
And for Joe, that’s the real win. “Seeing someone go from zero understanding of our industry to a proficient and confident employee, well, it’s very rewarding.”