About Us

Meet the Team

We employ the best!

We have a large team working from our two main operating locations of Brisbane and Perth and our satellite facilities across Australia and New Zealand.

Our team includes highly qualified and experienced electrical trainers who hold trade qualifications and practical experience in the field in which they teach. Together they offer over 250 years of combined electrical experience, which is leveraged to ensure our course materials and training aids are relevant to the real-world and incorporate industry best practice.

In addition, we have competency assurance specialists on staff, from varying backgrounds including defence, aviation and resources. All are highly qualified, experienced and passionate about learning and development. They provide custom training solutions for our key clients both in Australia and internationally and facilitate the development and delivery of our professional courses.

Brendan Newell

Brendan Newell

General Manager

Brendan joined Competency Training as Compliance and Development Manager in 2010, taking on responsibility for RTO compliance and course development. Brendan is passionate about learning and development and his previous experience as an education and training professional is vast and varied, including time as a product support systems and training specialist with Boeing Defence Australia. Highly qualified, Brendan holds a Master of Education, Diploma of Training and Assessment and Certificates IV in Frontline Management and Training and Assessment. In 2014 Brendan also took on responsibility for our Competency Assurance business.

Dale Williams

Senior Trainer

Dale is a skilled Trainer with 25 years industry experience in Australia, including Queensland and Western Australia. Dale has worked as a Trainer, Advisor, Maintenance Manager and Electrical Fitter across a wide range of industries including Mining, Defence, Motor and Generator and Rail.

Jeff Muir

Lead Competency Assurance Specialist

Jeff is an experienced and qualified learning and development specialist with more than 20 years industry experience. Jeff has worked extensively in the Airforce and other related avionics industries. His background covers training coordination and design, training and assessment, RTO management and logistics support analysis. Additionally Jeff worked within the Airforce in aircraft maintenance and other technical roles.

Brett Newton

Trainer

Brett has been with Competency Training since 2016, delivery a variety of courses such as High Voltage Switching, Installation of Electrical Equipment in Hazardous Areas and our UEE40411 Certificate IV in Instrumentation courses. Brett holds qualifications in Certificate IV Electrical Fitter Mechanic Trade, Certificate IV Trainer and Assessor and Certificate III Metalliferous Mining Operations.

Gazai Kumri

Lead Trainer (High Voltage)

Gaz commenced his career as an electrical apprentice with Rio Tinto Iron Ore. He remained with Rio Tinto for the next 20 years, working his way up through the ranks, before branching out into an onsite training and assessment role. Since 2013, he has been working in the Electrical Training Industry as a High Voltage Trainer with Competency Training.

Gaz is a seasoned professional training facilitator and has extensive experience in Australia and internationally in competency based training and education in the hazards associated with electricity.

Steven Miller

Trainer

Steve is a qualified electrician with 22 years’ experience in a variety of industries including, Mining, Infrastructure, Power Generation, Oil & Gas, specifically Hazardous area inspection, compliance and auditing. Steve is an experienced instructor with 3 years demonstrated history of working as an Electrical trainer & assessor delivering HA & HV training to electrical workers.

Mary Todd

Administrator

Danielle Hodges

Business Efficiency Manager

With 18 years in the Vet Sector, I am experienced in developing strategies for Successful business transformation, my passion is operational efficiencies that breeds a high standard of compliance.

Developing and implementing strategy in complex, rapidly changing business environments including generating new income streams.

Eliza Medcraft

Training and Systems Lead

As Training and Systems Lead, I lead the optimisation of systems and processes at Competency Training. I’m always driving to improve our online content delivery by integrating the latest technological developments within the training space.

Having worked at Competency Training for nearly 3 years, my focus remains on ensuring People, Processes and Systems are in place to facilitate the effective delivery of our training activities.

Cecilia McDonald

Sales Consultant

Paul Cheales

Trainer – Hazardous Areas Specialist

Paul Bloomfield

Competency Assurance Specialist

Paul is a training professional and highly experienced technical writer with eight years in Workplace Training, and Training Design and Development.

His experience includes Gas, Metalliferous and Coal industries, Underground and Open Cut mining, Processing and Handling plants, Waste Plants, Heavy Mobile Equipment, Rail and Health.

Paul has worked with companies in Australia, NZ, Fiji and PNG developing, improving and implementing company procedures, SWPs, operations and maintenance training, training programs, systems and materials and eLearning courses.

Work specific to gas, and gas processes includes a 12‐month secondment with the QGC (Shell) Learning Team to research, develop and implement eLearning courses to address Upstream Operations and Maintenance requirements.

John Ryan

Trainer – Hazardous Areas Specialist

John has worked on a number of large industrial construction projects over the last 30 years in Australia and has a strong understanding of power and instrumentation systems, which include installation of infrastructure, cabling, terminations, testing, hazardous area electrical inspections and QA.

Wes Hodgson

Trainer – Hazardous Areas Specialist

Wes is a licenced electrician with over thirty years of experience in the Western Australian industrial resource and mining sectors, of which the majority was with a leading timber processor (explosive dust atmosphere).

His responsibilities have included engineering, maintenance, fault finding, project management, commissioning, delivering training, supervisory functions and classifying, designing and inspecting hazardous areas.

Paul Cadwell

Trainer – Hazardous Areas Specialist

Vittoria Valentine

Administrator

Vittoria is a recent graduate. Working for Competency Training is her first job out of school. An avid learner, Vittoria is quickly getting up to speed with what it means to work for a large scale training organisation.

As a recent graduate Competency Training has welcomed Tori to our team, and introduced her to our training organisation. Tori is an avid learner, self-motivated and has embraced the opportunities offered in her first role with skill.

Ralph Blundell

Trainer – High Voltage Specialist

Need to update your qualifications?

There is more than enough in the course content to make sure we walk away qualified.

Stuart Grant
(Cert IV Instrumentation Student)

There is more than enough in the course content to make sure we walk away qualified.

Stuart Grant
(Cert IV Instrumentation Student)

There is more than enough in the course content to make sure we walk away qualified.

Stuart Grant
(Cert IV Instrumentation Student)