Background At present, there have been no readily identifiable individual human factors that predict operative technical ability. Despite this, a vast array of assessments are regularly utilised to select surgical candidates. The multifaceted nature of surgery makes it difficult to pinpoint characteristics that contribute to surgical skill. One key tenant of surgical training is that experience leads to better surgical performance, however this has not been tested. Methods Accredited surgical trainees were recruited from a network of four hospitals in Newcastle, Australia. Participants were selected if they were on the Royal Australian College’s general surgical program and predicted to perform at least 6 laparoscopic cholecystectomies during their current six month rotation. Ten registrars were recruited and underwent a baseline questionnaire assessing previous surgical experience which included how many years of medical training and surgical accredited training, number of previous laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed and number of major operations performed. The participants then recorded a laparoscopic cholecystectomy they performed as first operator. They then graded the operation based on the validated Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) tool. Following this, the video was reviewed by an independent senior surgeon who also completed a GOALS assessment.  The primary outcome measured was to identify which questionnaire factors related to operative skills as judged by the subject and independent reviewer. Results Of the ten subjects recruited, all completed the questionnaire and GOALS assessment. The results showed that there was no correlation between post-graduate training years, Surgical Education and Training (SET) year, number of previous laparoscopic cholecystectomies or number of previous major operations completed and overall GOALS score (p=0.72, 0.55, 0.33 and 0.41). Subgroup analysis revealed a small trend toward significance of tissue handling with increasing SET year and number of previous major operations (p=0.15 and 0.18).