FIFO Trades Assistant Jobs

A trades assistant works alongside a fitter, boilermaker or electrician, doing the lifting, cleaning, tool handling and preparation that lets the tradesperson keep working. On shutdowns, contractors bring in TAs by the dozen. On a mine site maintenance crew, a TA is the person who learns the plant and often gets sponsored into an adult apprenticeship.

What employers ask for

No trade is needed. Employers want a manual licence, a police clearance, the medical, and physical fitness. Tickets that make you more useful are confined space, working at heights, EWP, forklift and a basic rigging or dogging licence, because a TA who can dog a load or drive the EWP saves the crew time. Previous workshop or industrial experience helps.

Rosters

Shutdown work is short term and intense, sometimes a few weeks at a stretch on 3:1 or longer. Ongoing maintenance TA roles follow the site roster, 2:1 or 8/6 in WA and 7/7 in Queensland. Flights, camp and meals are covered on swing.

Other ways in without a trade are on the entry level page and the utility page.