FiFoDiDo

FiFoDiDo Editorial · 14 October 2026

Apprenticeships & graduatesGetting a FIFO jobOil & gas

How to Become a Process Technician

Process technicians run the plants that turn ore, oil and gas into a product. Many start with no experience through a traineeship. Here's how.

Process Technician

Process technicians, also called process or production operators, monitor and control the equipment in a processing plant. In mining that means crushing, grinding, flotation, thickening, filtration and tailings. In oil and gas it means gas treatment, compression or LNG production. They use control-room screens, field instruments, radios and procedures to keep the plant safe and steady.

At a glance

  • Where you'll work: mineral processing plants, LNG facilities, refineries, smelters, chemical plants.
  • Usual way in: a process plant operations traineeship.
  • Uni needed? No.
  • Time to qualify: traineeships often take one to two years.
  • Rosters: FIFO and DIDO are common, usually on rotating day and night shifts.

What the job involves

  • Starting up and shutting down plant areas safely.
  • Watching control-room screens and process trends.
  • Adjusting flows, temperatures, pressures and levels.
  • Doing field rounds to check pumps, valves, tanks and conveyors.
  • Taking samples and recording production data.
  • Responding to alarms and process upsets.

At school

  • Maths, including percentages, ratios and measurement.
  • Chemistry and physics.
  • Computing.
  • English, for procedures and shift reports.

How to qualify

The most direct route is a process plant operations traineeship with a mining, processing, chemical or oil and gas employer. Qualifications often run in levels, from entry-level operator up to advanced technician.

These qualifications rely heavily on workplace evidence. You normally need to be working in a plant and be assessed on the job, so finding an employer comes first.

Your first job

Job titles to search for:

  • Process Operator Trainee
  • Production Operator Trainee
  • Mineral Processing Trainee
  • Fixed Plant Operator
  • Control Room Operator Trainee
  • LNG Operations Trainee

New operators usually start in the field, learning what the equipment looks and sounds like. A trend on screen can look normal while a pump vibrates or a pipe starts to block. With experience you can move into the control room. There you'll watch several plant areas, coordinate field operators and respond to alarms.

Tickets and training

  • Your process plant qualification.
  • Isolation, permit and handover procedures.
  • Gas testing and confined space tickets, for some plants.
  • First aid.
  • Site inductions and a medical.

Where it can lead

Trainee Operator → Process Plant Operator → Senior Field or Control Room Operator → Advanced Process Technician → Shift Supervisor → Operations Superintendent or Plant Manager

Some operators later specialise in control systems, commissioning, training or process engineering.

What employers look for

  • Alertness and the ability to spot small changes before they become big problems.
  • Following procedures, and thinking clearly when conditions change.
  • Putting safety first. Production targets never override process safety.
  • Computer confidence and mechanical aptitude.
  • Being able to work rotating shifts.

Is it for you?

It suits you if you like practical technology, watching systems closely and making decisions. It's also one of the more accessible ways into the industry.

Pay, rosters and jobs

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