Overview
Develop practical skills and knowledge in a fast-growing industry with a Certificate III in Civil Construction RII30920 at Victoria University Polytechnic.
You will gain knowledge and skills in:
- reading and interpreting plans and specifications
- measurements and calculations
- operation of a small plant and equipment
- hand tools and power tools
- planning and organising work
- workplace communication and safety
- risk management.
These skills will set you up for success in the following specialisations:
- RII30920 Certificate III in Civil Construction – Road Construction and Maintenance
- RII30920 Certificate III in Civil Construction – Tunnel Construction
- RII30920 Certificate III in Civil Construction – General.
Within each specialisation, you will learn specific practical skills for your future career, such as drainage and dewatering, excavation and concreting.
This course is ideal for anyone interested in entering the civil construction industry.
Course duration
- Domestic: 0.5 years
- Apprenticeship: 3 years
- Traineeship: 1 year
- Industry group: 1.5 years
Free TAFE - apply now
Eligible students currently won’t pay tuition fees for this course.
Free TAFE courses align with skills and jobs that are in high demand from Victorian employers.
Find out more about Free TAFE.
Specialisations
Road construction & maintenance specialisation
Within the road construction and maintenance specialisation, areas of learning include:
- manual excavation and levelling
- concreting
- implementing a traffic management plan
- installation of signs and roadside fixtures
- repairing damaged surfaces
- maintenance of bitumen surfaces
- safe disposal of infrastructure materials
- drainage and dewatering
- excavation
- skid steer loader and roller operations.
Tunnel construction specialisation
Within the tunnel construction specialisation, areas of learning include:
- manual excavation and levelling
- concreting
- plant operations
- tunnelling constructions services
- excavation
- tunnel earthworks
- portal construction
- safe disposal of infrastructure materials
- drainage and dewatering.
General specialisation
Within the general specialisation, areas of learning include:
- drainage and dewatering
- excavation
- concreting
- installation of signs and roadside fixtures
- elevating work platforms
- skid steer loader and roller operations
- fence and gate construction
- site record management.
Course benefits
Hands-on training & industry links
You will have access to state-of-the-art simulators and machines at our Werribee Campus (Werribee East). As part of your course, you will undertake 150+ hours of operating machinery, including our eight-tonne wheeled front end loader, in a controlled environment. Learning with us means you’ll get the hands-on training to operate equipment safely and be job-ready when you graduate.
Industry partners are also co-located at Werribee East, allowing for closer industry contact during your training.
Learning advice
VU's Learning Hubs are welcoming spaces where you can improve your study and employability skills.
Our students can attend Learning Hubs at one of five VU campuses.
We offer maths, writing, careers and English-language advice, and show you effective ways to study and manage your time.
Our programs include:
- workshops
- drop-in sessions
- peer mentoring
- maths and writing resources
- resume and career guidance.
We also have accessibility support services and counselling services available for all students.
Library & computer facilities
Our campus libraries have photocopying, computing and printing facilities as well as electronic and print resources.
You'll also have access to a rich collection of online resources at any time of the day or night, including:
- databases
- e-learning content for courses
- student email
- student software packages
- social networking tools.
On campus, we make sure that all of our students have access to digital resources. We offer:
- excellent WiFi networks
- more than 4000 computers (PCs and Apple Macs) across our campuses
- a central IT helpdesk for technical help.
Need some advice?
Request a call back from one of our experienced Victoria University Polytechnic course advisers to get your questions answered.
Request a call backTAFE resources
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Free TAFE
No tuition fees for eligible students. - Fee subsidies
Develop a broad range of road construction and maintenance skills to pursue a career in civil construction with the Certificate III in Civil Construction RII30920.
Careers
Graduates from this qualification will have the skills and knowledge in their specialisation to undertake roles within the civil construction industry such as:
- road construction specialist
- road maintenance specialist
- skilled operator working in specifically in tunnelling or general civil construction work.
Nationally recognised training
This course is nationally recognised training.
Course structure
RII30920 Certificate III in Civil Construction has core and elective units of competency that cover the skills for the following eight (8) specialist and one (1) general civil construction specialisations.
The course structure comprises the following core and elective units. These electives have been selected based on industry needs, graduate pathways and/or student and teacher feedback.
Victoria University Polytechnic offers the following specialisations:
- Road Construction and Maintenance
- Tunnel Construction
- Civil Construction General
Specialisation 4 - Road Construction and Maintenance
To be awarded the RII30920 Certificate III in Civil Construction (Road Construction and Maintenance), a student must successfully complete a total of twenty six (26) units of competency, comprising of:
- Eight (8) core units, and;
- Eighteen (18) elective units, of which:
- nine (9) must be chosen from Group J
- at least two (2) must be chosen from Group K
- at least two (2) must be chosen from Group L
- up to four (4) may be chosen from the electives below, elsewhere within this training package, or from another endorsed training package, or from an accredited course
- at least five (5) of the eighteen (18) elective units chosen must be road construction and maintenance (RIICRC) units.
Specialisation 6 - Tunnel Construction
To be awarded the RII30920 Certificate III in Civil Construction (Tunnel Construction), a student must successfully complete a total of twenty six (26) units of competency, comprising of:
- Eight (8) core units, and;
- Eighteen (18) elective units, of which:
- at least five (5) must be chosen from Group P
- at least six (6) must be chosen from Group Q
- at least two (2) must be chosen from Group R
- up to four (4) may be chosen from the electives listed below, elsewhere within this training package, or from another endorsed training package, or from an accredited course
- at least two (2) of the eighteen (18) elective units chosen must be tunnel construction (RIICTC) units.
Specialisation 9 - Civil Construction General
To be awarded the RII30920 Certificate III in Civil Construction (General), a student must successfully complete a total of twenty five (25) units of competency, comprising of:
- Eight (8) core units, and;
- Seventeen (17) elective units, of which:
- at least four (4) must be chosen from one of Groups YA-YK
- at least ten (10) must be chosen from Group Z
- up to three (3) may be chosen from the electives listed below, elsewhere within this training package, or from another endorsed training package, or from an accredited course
- at least five (5) of the seventeen (17) elective units chosen must have a numerical code beginning with 3.
All elective units selected for this qualification must reflect current occupational and learning outcomes of this AQF qualification level.The elective bank contains both licensed and non-licensed units of competency relating to high risk work in the resources and infrastructure industry. To be appointed under any statutory requirements in related roles, units of competency should be selected to meet the state/territory licensing requirements.
Course structure and units
VU Polytechnic delivers the electives listed in the ‘course structure and units’ below. These electives have been selected based on industry needs, graduate pathways and/or student and teacher feedback. Alternative suitable electives are only available via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Credit Transfer (CT).
Core units
- for all students
Elective units
For Domestic students - Road Construction and Maintenance specialisation
Group J Road Construction and Maintenance (Specialisation Core)
Group K Road Construction and Maintenance (Technical)
Group L Road Construction and Maintenance (General)
Group YK Civil Construction General - Utilities
Group Z Civil Construction General - General and Other Units
Imported Units
For Traineeship students - Road Construction and Maintenance specialisation
Group J Road Construction and Maintenance (Specialisation Core)
Group K Road Construction and Maintenance (Technical)
Group L Road Construction and Maintenance (General)
Group YK General - Utilities
Group Z General - General and Other Units
Imported Units
For Traineeship students - Tunnel Construction specialisation
Group P Tunnel Construction (Specialisation Core)
Group Q Tunnel Construction (Technical)
Group R Tunnel Construction (General)
For Apprenticeship students - General specialisation
Group YE General - Pipe Laying
Group YK General - Utilities
Group Z General - General and Other Units
For Continuing Students Only
Imported Units
Electives Group A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, M, N, O, S, T, U, V, W, X, YA, YB, YC, YD, YF, YG, YH, YI, YJ - Not available
Electives of these groups are not currently offered by VU Polytechnic.
Recognition of Prior Learning and/or Credit Transfers
Previous completion of units at the VU Polytechnic or any other Registered Training Organisation and/or previous attainment of skills and knowledge may be credited towards this course. Units must satisfy the completion rules of the qualification and be assessed as appropriate by the Polytechnic.
Learning outcomes
This qualification reflects the role of individuals working as skilled operators in civil construction, who apply a broad range of skills in varied work contexts, using some discretion and judgement and relevant theoretical knowledge. The individual may provide theoretical advice and support a team.The qualification applies to specialist occupations in bituminous surfacing, bridge construction and maintenance, pipe laying, road construction and maintenance, road marking, tunnel construction, timber bridge construction and maintenance, traffic management and general civil construction occupations.
Fees & scholarships
Fee type for this course: VET
Fee type definitions
The amount you pay for your course depends on whether you’re offered a government subsidised place or a full fee-paying place.
Students who enrol in a:
- government subsidised place pay subsidised tuition fees (the government contributes the rest), and may be required to pay a Student Services and Amenities Fee along with any material fees
- full fee-paying place pay the full fee tuition rate (which includes Student Services and Amenities Fee and any material fees).
Calculate your VET course fees.
Find out more about:
- the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF)
- ways to pay your fees
- important fee dates
- how to apply for a VE/TAFE refund
Scholarships & assistance
Apply for a scholarship to help with your study costs.
We can help with fee assistance and advice.
Admission & pathways
Meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee you entry into this course. Some courses receive more applications than the number of places available. In this situation we will also assess your education, work and other relevant experience.
If you do not meet the minimum requirements you may be eligible for one of our special admission programs.
Find out more about how to apply for our courses, and our commitment to admissions transparency.
Entry requirements
As part of the application process, applicants must complete a Pre-training Review (PTR) and undertake a literacy and numeracy (LN) assessment to determine suitability for admission.
Due to the size of the equipment used in training, applicants must be at least 18 years of age or over by the time of commencement date of the program.
Local admission requirements for Apprenticeship/Traineeship applicants:
- must have an active employer
- must have an active Epsilon number prior to commencing the course
- Where the apprentice or trainee is under the age of 18, an employer sign off maybe required.
Pathways from VU courses
There are many ways you can start your education journey at VU. Pathways offer an easy transition between courses at different levels, so that you can start with a certificate and progress right through to postgraduate study.
Find out more about pathways and credits.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Use our credit calculator to find out how much credit you could get towards your course, based on your previous study.
You may be able to complete your qualification sooner through formal recognition of your existing skills. This is known as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
To receive RPL, we assess your previous work, education and life experiences against recognised qualifications. Applications for RPL can be made prior to enrolling.
Call us on 1300 TAFE VP (1300 823 387) to discuss RPL options with the course manager.
How to apply
Prior to enrolment, all applicants will be required to complete a literacy and numeracy assessment to assist with determining eligibility and to identify learning support needs.
Available start dates:
- 10 July 2023
- 2 October 2023
Before you apply
Before starting your application, please read through the step-by-step VU Polytechnic application process to make sure you have all the necessary documents and information ready to successfully complete your application.
Before applying, you should consider whether you also want to apply for:
- Credit transfer/Recognition of prior learning (RPL): If you have significant experience or studies elsewhere you may be eligible for credit for some units of your course and not have to undertake them.
Apply direct to VU
Apply direct to VU using our admission centre, submit applications for one or more courses, track and save your progress and upload additional information.
Already a VU student?
If you are already a VU student, apply direct to VU using our Admissions centre to transfer into this course. Remember it’s best to be accepted into your new course before withdrawing from your current one.
After you apply
- It’s important to check for emails from us (which may go to your spam/junk folder).
- Complete any requests for information by the given dates, otherwise your application may not be considered
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Contact VU Polytechnic
Please note that if changes to this course occur, VU will notify students as soon as possible.
At Victoria University, we aim to display accurate and complete course information online. However, we are unable to guarantee that every course change is currently displayed. You may contact the University directly on +61 3 9919 6100 to confirm the most up-to-date course fees, pathways and credit transfer, recognition of prior learning, admission and enrolment procedures, examinations and services available to our students.
