Answer extracted from the Creatures of the Industry podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How did scaffolders train in Australia during the 1970s and 1980s?
In the 1970s, scaffolders obtained a permit valid for 12 months to 2 years, during which they documented their on-the-job experience before attending formal instruction at a technical college. The real education came from learning alongside experienced scaffolders who taught the custom and practice of the trade—knowledge more powerful than any written regulation when few rules existed.
The pathway combined practical apprenticeship with institutional learning. After working on site for the duration of their permit period, apprentice scaffolders enrolled in classes at technical institutes like Swinburne. As Terry Riggs describes in the episode, the instructors themselves were former practitioners—his own instructor at Swinburne, Mr Roberts, was the chief scaffold inspector, bringing real-world authority to the classroom.
The dominance of on-the-job training over written rules
What made this training system distinctive was the primacy of experience over documentation. When Riggs transitioned to scaffolding in the early 1980s after ten years as a labourer, custom and practice—the unwritten knowledge held by veteran scaffolders—held more weight than any formal regulation. The building and construction industry had few written safety codes; the trade was governed by established methods passed directly from master to apprentice.
Riggs himself endured the full rigour of this dual commitment: after an 11-hour workday on site, he would ride his motorcycle for over an hour to attend evening or after-hours classes at the technical institute. This grueling schedule reflected how seriously both employer and worker treated formal qualification, yet it remained secondary to the daily mentoring that occurred on the scaffolding itself. The full episode explores how these informal apprenticeships shaped an entire generation of Australian construction professionals.
"If you can't get on with people, you're no good. Doesn't matter if you're a super scaffolder. We'll just get rid of you and get two other people."
Terry Riggs — Contract Scaffolder. Riggs started in the building and construction industry in 1971 as a builder's labourer in Sale, East Gippsland, before transitioning to scaffolding ten years later. He worked on major offshore projects including Barry Beach from 1978 to 1983, where he gained expertise in complex metal scaffold construction, and has spent decades as a contract scaffolder across Victoria and Western Australia.
A detail worth exploring further: Riggs's experience on the Barry Beach offshore construction project between 1978 and 1983 involved building approximately five complete jackets with zero fatalities—a safety record that reveals how the informal apprenticeship model translated into practice on some of Australia's most dangerous worksites.
Key takeaways
- Scaffolding permits in the 1970s were valid for 12 to 24 months and required workers to document their on-the-job learning before formal qualification.
- Technical institutes like Swinburne provided classroom instruction after apprentices had accumulated site experience, often taught by former inspectors and practitioners.
- Custom and practice—mentoring by experienced scaffolders—was more authoritative than written regulations in an era when few safety codes existed for the trade.
- The dual pathway combined grueling on-site work with evening or after-hours technical college attendance, reflecting the commitment required to enter the profession.
See also
What generational shift in worker solidarity and workplace culture has emerged in Melbourne's construction sector over the past 20 years?
Riggs observes that on the Metro Tunnel project, a major Melbourne construction site, the brothers have struggled to maintain the solidarity and commitment that characterised earlier decades of the industry.
What structural safety management failures have been observed at major oil and gas companies claiming world-class safety practices?
Riggs criticises both Woodside and Esso for maintaining 'world's best safety practice' documentation that remained unused in folders on shelves, disconnected from actual working conditions on site.
How did the Longford Gas Plant disaster in 1998 create employment opportunities and change working conditions for construction workers in Gippsland?
After the Longford gas plant explosion, Riggs secured work on the remediation and construction job to restore critical infrastructure in the region.