Australia must double its clean energy workforce to meet 2030 goals and secure future jobs, CEC CEO Kane Thornton writes.
If renewable energy is to replace retiring coal-fired generation across the country, Australia’s clean energy workforce needs to more than double – from 25,000 today to 66,000 by 2030.
That’s an enormous task that requires coordination and effort right across the industry.
But it’s also a boon for Australian jobs. A diverse range of skills and occupations are needed, from electricians to engineers, in addition to a huge amount of construction workers to build such a large amount of new infrastructure.
I have mentioned before in these pages that Australia is operating in a global clean energy marketplace, competing for materials, investment and talent. It’s crucial that Australia puts the framework in place to ensure that as many of those elements as possible find their way to our shores.
Growing a workforce to the levels required is a real challenge and, in addition to the raw numbers, we need to ensure the workforce is as diverse as possible.
Women in renewables
Women make up roughly 40 per cent of the clean energy workforce, which is significantly higher than the fossil-fuel industry and better than renewables globally, but obviously there is a gap there that needs to be closed. Despite President Trump launching a war on diversity and inclusion programs, the evidence is clear on the benefits to people and the bottom line of a more diverse workforce.
At the Clean Energy Council, we’re working on ways to showcase both the amazing women who already work in clean energy, and the roles available going forward.
We recently went live with a social media series profiling women who work in a wide variety of positions and careers, all contributing to Australia’s energy transition. You can find out about some of them in the article on page 30. From technical operations managers to start-up entrepreneurs, the series highlights the range of roles in renewables, and the paths these women took to come to the sector and the reasons they stay.
That video series is part of our wider Women in Renewables campaign, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025. The program champions the role of women in clean energy through a mentorship scheme, the ever-popular Career Launcher Initiative, through which companies can sponsor students to attend industry events, and two annual scholarships: the Chloe Munro Scholarship and the Australian Institute of Company Directors Foundations of Directorship course, both of which support the next generation of women leaders that our industry needs.
We’re also very proud to have recently launched the first edition of our Grid Connection Engineer Graduate Scheme, an industry first partnership with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). We welcomed 12 graduates to the program in early February, kicking off their two-year course at AEMO’s offices. The grads are embarking on a unique program of four rotations, working with clean energy developers, manufacturers, network providers and AEMO. The 12 grads are an even split of women and men.
Meanwhile, work continues on our Clean Energy Required Training programs, which will initially launch in Victoria and Queensland. The objective of that initiative is to improve worker mobility and establish consistent, industry agreed training and qualifications for trade workers employed in renewable energy developments. One of the barriers the industry has faced is a lack of consistency in training standards and recognised qualifications.
Facts through the noise
One of the obstacles facing the energy transition is the prevalence of misinformation – everyday Australians are struggling to sift through the noise and get the facts, and there are bad faith actors out there who are not interested in providing those. That’s why the Clean Energy Council has launched a new public-information campaign – Clean energy works for Australia. A key component of that campaign is the launch of a new website, Energy Fact Check (energyfactcheck.com.au), which Aussies can visit to get evidence-based answers to some of the common questions about the transition. Can Australia run its grid on renewables? Are renewables more expensive than fossil fuels? What will happen to wind turbine blades at their end of life?
These questions and more can be found on the site, which will be regularly updated.
The facts about clean energy jobs now and into the future is also addressed on the site and also covered in our new fact sheet series.
With a federal election looming, facts are more important now than ever. Telling the story of the energy transition is crucial and thankfully, it’s a positive story to tell.
Rooftop solar is installed on over four million homes and businesses, bringing savings of $6 billion a year; $40 billion has been invested in large-scale renewable energy in Australia’s economy in the past four years alone; 40,000 additional roles are needed in clean energy by 2030; and more than 40 per cent of our electricity is already generated by renewables as polluting, coal-fired generation retires.
The task is to make sure people know: clean energy works for Australia.
This article featured in the April edition of ecogeneration.
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