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25th January, 2023 | Policy, Renewables, Transition to Renewables |
As the clean energy transition in Australia gathers pace, the industry is facing a labour and skills shortage, with big moves being made to upskill its future workforce, writes Gavin Dennett.
Much has been written about how Australia’s change of Federal Government in May 2022 has released the handbrake on the nation’s drive towards a clean energy future. With a supportive government that is committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and has legislated its 43 per cent emissions target by 2030 – plus is dedicating $25 billion to renewables investment – the shackles are well and truly off after a decade of a Coalition government seemingly in denial of the planet’s perilous climate plight.
While kudos is given to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his promise to make Australia a clean energy superpower, credit must be given to the various state and territory governments that have been setting their climate and clean energy agendas in recent years. Also deserving of immense praise is the clean energy sector that has worked tirelessly – often against the odds under the previous federal regime – to progress the nation’s push towards renewables and leave dependency on fossil fuels in the rear-view mirror.
The result of these years of work is a burgeoning industry comprising the brightest minds that is embracing innovation and is mostly well prepared for the accelerated transition to renewables. However, while the policies, frameworks, funding and ideas are well placed to push forward with this speedy large-scale energy transformation, Australia’s massive challenge is finding and skilling the workforce to keep pace with the change.
Currently, the clean energy industry is suffering a serious labour shortage, and Australia runs the risk of being unable to meet its new climate targets unless these skills gaps can be filled.
Clean energy’s upskilling challenge has two main components: building a renewables workforce to fill newly creating jobs, and transitioning existing workers from fossil fuel industries such as coalfired power plants into new careers in green power. Both come with unique demands.
Skilling the Energy Transition
Ahead of the Federal Government’s National Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra in September 2022, the Clean Energy Council released its “Skilling the Energy Transition” report, which makes six urgent recommendations to fix Australia’s skills and labour challenges:
“This is the key decade, not only for Australia’s emissions reduction efforts but also in developing the workforce to drive this economy-wide change,” says Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton. “Now is the time to take stock and put in place measures to ensure people and jobs are a focus of Australia’s clean energy transition.”
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2022 Integrated System Plan outlines the case for building 141GW of large-scale wind and solar capacity, 63GW of storage and hydro capacity, and 69GW of small-scale solar and household batteries by 2050 to maintain reliability and keep energy prices down – a ninefold increase in large-scale renewable generation installed in the National Electricity Market and a fivefold increase in small-scale generation.
“Delivering this transformation will require an enormous number of workers,” says Thornton.
“According to [research company] Reputex’s modelling of the Australian Labor Party’s Powering Australia policy platform, there could be 604,000 additional direct and indirect jobs created by 2030. This presents an enormous opportunity but comes at a time when the existing modest workforce of 30,000 is riddled with challenges, gaps and unmet demand from industry.”
It is estimated by 2035, 75 per cent of clean energy jobs could be in regional Australia, meaning extraordinary steps need to be taken to establish frameworks to ensure the workforce is there to fill the jobs.
“Addressing current and growing labour shortages and skills gaps requires a genuine collaboration between governments, community, agencies and development bodies, the education sector, and the clean energy industry,” says Thornton.
“We don’t have time to waste. Opportunity comes knocking once in a generation. This is our generation’s opportunity to deliver a clean energy future for Australia, set us up to become a global clean energy superpower, and create an extraordinary legacy for Australian workers.”
According to Michael Wright, acting national secretary of the Electrical Trades Union, the challenge of skilling Australia’s clean energy workforce is an urgent national priority.
“The critical and urgent need to power Australia’s future means prioritising the skills and training of energy workers and tomorrow’s trades is vital for the national interest,” he says. “From the pylon to the power point, the turbine to the cooktop, Australia’s energy future creates unprecedented demand for a highly skilled workforce.
“Investing in a secure, skilled and well-trained workforce is the first step towards powering Australia’s future. It’s the absolute foundation of the pathway to meet climate targets and reduce emissions.”
This sentiment is echoed by Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew AO, who acknowledges Australia has a lot of work to do.
“The enormity of the task of transitioning to a clean energy economy and society is beyond the capacity of Australia’s current workforce,” she says. “As part of this skills shortage, the nation urgently needs more engineers working across the whole economy to support the significant challenges and opportunities associated with reaching net-zero emissions and moving towards a clean energy power system.
“Engineers Australia endorses the call for government, industry, the tertiary education sector and professional associations to work together to drive this enormous transition and transformation challenge.”
National Jobs and Skills Summit
Clean energy was a clear winner from the Federal Government’s National Jobs and Skills Summit, with critical outcomes including:
“The summit recognised the extraordinary opportunity for Australia to create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs across regional Australia,” says Thornton. “With a strong spirit of positivity and collaboration, the outcomes represent major progress in developing the workforce necessary to ensure Australia becomes a global clean energy superpower.”
Jobseekers market
In the October 2022 issue of EcoGeneration, Dr Liz Beavis, now former site manager of Coopers Gap Wind Farm in Queensland, spoke of the lack of experience she encountered when recruiting for technicians.
“When I’m recruiting technicians, there’s hardly anyone who applies with 10 years’ experience in wind,” she said. “I’m luckily if I get anyone with six months’ experience. Most people are new to the industry because it’s growing so fast, and you have to take a chance on new people and figure out what skills are transferrable. It’s a jobseekers’ market.”
Such is the speed of the clean energy industry’s growth, there’s never been better career opportunities.
“A recent survey revealed that four of the 10 jobs facing shortages in Australia are critical roles in the energy sector, including construction managers, civil engineering professionals, IT business/systems analysts and electricians,” says Liam Dutton, recruitment director at international workforce solutions provider Airswift.
“With Australia seeking to transform into a renewable energy superpower, and the Federal Government setting aside $100 million [over four years] to support 10,000 new energy apprenticeships, this may spur on business investments in skills training to help Australian energy workers make the transition.
“For example, Australia is experiencing an expanding wind energy market, with 80 onshore wind projects planned during the next five years with a total investment of $52 billion, leading to rapid growth across multiple sectors to support the industry. Airswift is seeing increasing demand for talent across the entire lifecycle, from office workers, technology and factories to construction and operations and management roles.
“Employers are eager to recruit candidates with a strong working background in safety, high-voltage equipment, leadership management and IT skills – and plenty are already qualified to make the leap.
“Professionals with civil engineering backgrounds, and oil and gas experience with offshore structures, are in high demand for wind energy projects. Because wind farms use similar technology and processes, this makes the transition a natural one for many oil and gas workers.”
The Australian hydrogen sector also represents enormous vocational opportunities.
“Australia has committed to being a major global player in the hydrogen industry by 2030,” says Dutton. “With Australian-based companies such as Fortescue Future Industries leading the global push in green hydrogen, as well as industry leading companies from Europe entering Australia, this is a very exciting time for the region.
“To meet worker demand, the strategy will have to incorporate a mixture of overseas candidates as well as local candidates with transferable skills from other sectors such as mining and oil and gas.”
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