Jobs and Skills Australia has released a major new report, The Clean Energy Generation: Workforce needs for a net zero economy.
The report recognises that reaching the Australian Government's target of net zero emissions by 2050 will require a workforce transformation involving a new generation of workers from both existing energy sectors and through new pathways into clean energy. New jobs, skills, qualifications, training pathways, technologies and industries will emerge over the next 30 years.
The clean energy workforce is defined in the report and supply and demand modelling establishes workforce gaps across a range of scenarios. It determines that Australia will need to consider the full range of levers across the education, training, migration, procurement, and workplace relations systems to ensure a sustainable and equitable path towards net zero.
The report:
- finds we have enough workers overall and most likely enough university graduates but outlines the risk of a shortfall of VET qualified workers, especially amongst electricians and other trades
- identifies both the emerging skills gaps in regional Australia as well as the opportunities for growth in the regions where new clean energy industries will emerge
- offers opportunities for a tertiary skills, training and qualifications system that is fit-for purpose to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies and emerging occupations, recommending innovative solutions to on-the-job skilling and all types of industry-led training
- tackles the barriers and challenges women, First Nations people and migrants face in participating in the sector
- offers a worker-centred approach to support transitioning communities, acknowledging that competition for skilled migrants is high and, while workers with clean energy skills are heavily concentrated in our regions, we have been slow to attract and support them.
Ai Group is a member of the Clean Energy Capacity Study’s Project Steering Group and submitted a response to the Study’s consultation paper.
Read the report
