RII21120 is the nationally recognised Certificate II in Oil & Gas Drilling (Onshore) and Well Servicing. It prepares you for work as a driller's assistant. It has been the current version on the national register since 2020, when it replaced RII21215 and RII21115. Employers posted about 100 driller's assistant jobs in June 2026, up 11.1% on a year earlier.
The independent signals behind the Certificate II in Oil & Gas Drilling (Onshore) and Well Servicing are weak right now. The official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage and enrolments are falling. Weigh both sides.
Employers are posting more driller's assistant jobs than a year ago. About 100 driller's assistant jobs were advertised online in June 2026, up 11.1% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 1,200 job ads, while 835 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Australia's official shortage list rates crane chasers as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Crane Chaser as not in shortage.
Driller's assistant jobs are projected to stay about flat. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 7,896 workers in May 2025, 7,864 by May 2030 (down 0.4%) and 7,973 by May 2035 (up 1%).
Enrolments in the Certificate II in Oil & Gas Drilling (Onshore) and Well Servicing are dropping fast. Across Australia, 1,450 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 835, down 42.4% in a year. National data for RII21120 starts in 2020.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for RII21120 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
The Certificate II in Oil & Gas Drilling (Onshore) and Well Servicing is 12 units: 6 core, plus 6 electives chosen from 26 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to Two of them, marked below.
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Browse coursesGet Course maps RII21120 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 8219) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; register training.gov.au, synced 18 September 2026; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.