Process Plant / Chemical Operations
Process plant operators will start up, run and watch over the plants that make green hydrogen, which is hydrogen made with renewable electricity, and green ammonia, a chemical made from that hydrogen. These plants are expected to employ fairly few people, and producers plan to retrain operators from today's chemical and fuel plants before they hire new ones.
Jobs in the energy transition
Hydrogen plant process operator
You'd start up, monitor and shut down the equipment that makes hydrogen, and report faults so the plant runs safely.
Extra training: Hydrogen and chemical producers train new operators on their own plants for about a year, on top of college training.
Gas cylinder filling operator
You'd prepare, fill, check and label gas cylinders at a plant that supplies hydrogen to customers, following strict safety checks.
Fuel cell and electrolyser production operator
You'd run machines that coat, assemble, clean and leak-test parts for fuel cells and electrolysers, and check finished parts for quality.
How to get there
The qualifications
What you need to start
To start NC(V) Process Plant Operations at Level 2, you need to have passed Grade 9, and the older NATED (N1 to N6) chemical courses are no longer open to new students.
These are the official minimum requirements, and colleges can set higher ones.
Where you can study
Data verified June–July 2026 from official college publications and the DHET occupational qualifications register. Spot an error? Suggest a correction.
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