Blog: VET Skills to Power The New Age of Clean Energy
Written by Cara Jenkin
Clean energy will have a once-in-a-generation transformative effect on the workforce and vocational education and training graduates are most in demand.
Australia has set a target to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050 and it also has the abundant natural assets such as sunshine and wind as well as resources such as lithium that are required to create clean energy.
However, the nation simply cannot transition successfully without having the skilled workforce to design, make, install, maintain and operate the new technologies.
Jobs and Skills Australia’s The Clean Energy Generation report reveals there is likely enough university graduates to meet workforce needs, however, there is a risk of a shortfall in vocational education and training (VET) qualified workers.
“Like the post-war industrial transformation and the digital transformation of the late 20th century, a new generation of workers will be required, both from existing energy sectors and through new pathways into clean energy,” it states.
“New jobs, skills, qualifications, training pathways, technologies and industries will emerge over the next 30 years.”
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The sector particularly offers amazing employment opportunities for regional Australians, where most clean energy projects will emerge.
The JSA report reveals 38 existing occupations will be crucial to developing and supporting the nation’s transition to clean energy. They include 16 VET-trained occupations across a broad range of fields:
- Architectural, Building and Surveying Technicians
- Civil Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians
- Electrical Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians
- Other Building and Engineering Technicians
- Automotive Electricians
- Motor Mechanics
- Aircraft Maintenance Engineers
- Metal Fitters and Machinists
- Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics
- Electrical Distribution Trades Workers
- Chemical, Gas, Petroleum and Power Generation Plant Operators
- Telecommunications Trades Workers
- Electronics Trades Workers
Of these, structural steel and welding trades, metal fitters and machinists, electricians, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics, other building and engineering technicians, aircraft maintenance engineers have been highlighted as not just crucial, but critical.
The report reveals preliminary modelling suggests between 26,000 and 42,000 more electricians alone will be needed in the next seven years, while the clean energy supply workforce will likely grow from 53,000 workers today to 84,000 workers by 2050.
THE EMERGING CLEAN ENERGY ROLES
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The clean energy sector is much broader than many people may think, as it involves a lot more than solar and wind power.
Clean energy workers are involved in designing, developing, constructing and operating the infrastructure to not only generate clean energy but store it, transmit it and distribute it from renewable, zero or low emission energy sources.
They also are required to reduce or manage the energy required, working in areas such as energy efficiency and energy demand management. Energy auditor is an emerging role in this field.
Then, there is the installation and maintenance of technology that will see fossil fuels replaced by clean energy – for example, electric vehicles.
The JSA report reveals the emerging occupations and the number of job advertisements that are already growing for people to work in these areas:
- EV Mechanic
- Climate Change Analyst
- Recycling Coordinator
- Energy Broker
- Solar Energy Systems Engineer
- Weatherisation Installers and Technicians
Meanwhile, there are many more occupations already being considered for which vocational education and training may be required, including:
- Carbon capture and storage specialists
- Hydrogen fuel cell technicians
- Battery design specialists (grid and residential)
- Battery recycling specialists
- Blade engineers
EMERGING CLEAN ENERGY SECTORS
There are also sectors in which workers can be employed that may not immediately spring to mind when considering a clean energy career.
The Australian Government’s Future Made in Australia initiative reveals mining is one area in which jobs will be created for VET graduates.
It reveals Australia is home to the world’s largest reserve of critical minerals for the transition, such as lithium and cobalt that are used to make batteries, and global demand for these minerals will need to increase by about 350 per cent by 2040.
So diesel mechanics, drillers, surveyors and resource processors will continue to be required.
Meanwhile, hydrogen is emerging as a key clean energy source, as it can be produced in ways that have little or no emissions as well as replace some fuels.
Renewable hydrogen can be produced through electrolysis, which extracts hydrogen from water using electricity. When renewable electricity is used to do this, there are no carbon emissions created in the process.
Hydrogen Power SA reports that the hydrogen industry requires technicians, engineers, research and development personnel, assemblers, project developers, plant operators, controllers, site managers, transportation workers and logistics specialists.
The bioenergy sector will also benefit for the demand for new fuels, which will lead to opportunities and new jobs in agriculture.
VET GIVES THE FUTURE WORKFORCE THE SKILLS THEY NEED
The Manufacturing Alliance believes new programs will need to be developed to skill new workers, such as apprentices, but also existing workers who already have obtained trade and technical qualifications.
In some cases, it may be that adjustments need to be made to existing programs – for example, motor mechanics need not learn about internal combustion systems but rather battery systems as part of their apprenticeship. The Certificate III in Automotive Electric Vehicle Technology has been created for this purpose.
In other cases, higher level qualifications can be undertaken for qualified tradespeople to upskill. For example, workers who already hold a Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician can upskill with a Certificate IV in Electrical – Renewable Energy.
Clean energy top-up courses and electives can be incorporated into vocational education and training qualifications to give them specific clean energy skills as well as the chance to specialise.
For example, short courses and microcredentials are already available for people working in the electrical industry to become accredited in wind and solar power and storage systems. The variety of courses and access will only grow in coming years.
Dual-trade apprenticeships may also be useful to train clean energy workers, enabling apprentices to train for two trade qualifications at the same time. For example, an electrician may also want skills to become an air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic. Or, they may want to complete study to become an energy auditor as well as an electrician.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAN ENERGY CAREERS, SEE THE CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL’S CAREERS GUIDE
Cara Jenkin is a freelance journalist with more than 20 years’ experience working in the print, digital and television media. It included 10 years as the editor of NewsCorp’s Careers employment section, covering topics ranging from education and training to workplace career advice.