RII31820 is the nationally recognised Certificate III in Drilling Operations. It prepares you for work as a driller. It has been the current version on the national register since 2020, when it replaced RII31815. Employers posted about 939 driller jobs in June 2026, up 22% on a year earlier.
The independent signals behind the Certificate III in Drilling Operations line up. Drillers are in national shortage, employment is projected to grow through 2035 and job ads in June 2026 were up 22% on a year earlier. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Employers are posting more driller jobs than a year ago. About 939 driller jobs were advertised online in June 2026, up 22% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 9,900 job ads, while 1,985 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 drillers as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Driller as in national shortage; Miner as in shortage in regional areas; Shot Firer as not in shortage.
Driller jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 64,127 workers in May 2025, 66,533 by May 2030 (up 3.8%) and 67,860 by May 2035 (up 5.8%).
Results for Certificate III in Drilling Operations graduates are mixed against other Certificate IIIs. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 96.5% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Certificate III result is 88%, across 105 qualifications. Median income after training was $94,100, against $54,000 typical. 85.3% were satisfied with the training, against 90.6% typical. Income here is the survey median about six months after training. It includes part-time work, so it is not the full-time award rate.
Enrolments in the Certificate III in Drilling Operations are steady. Across Australia, 2,055 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 1,985, down 3.4% in a year. National data for RII31820 starts in 2020.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for RII31820 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 III in Drilling Operations is 13 units: 8 core, plus 5 electives chosen from 47 options on the register.
No Get Course partner currently lists this qualification. Check the national register for organisations approved to deliver it, and remember that approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. You can browse live courses from our partners and enquire today.
Browse coursesGet Course maps RII31820 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 7122) 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. Outcome benchmarks marked “typical” are medians computed by Get Course across all Certificate IIIs in the same NCVER collection; they are derived figures, not official NCVER benchmarks. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; register training.gov.au, synced 5 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.