The Federal Government has launched Australia’s first national energy workforce survey, the Australian Energy Employment Report (AEER), which aims to improve government and industry understanding of jobs in the energy sector, and support its workers.
The online survey launched on 30 January, 2023, with the goal to give federal, state and local governments insight to assist in the development of policies regarding jobs, skills development and training opportunities in the energy sector; support new government initiatives such as ensuring a transition pathway for fossil fuel industry workers; provide a snapshot of workforce diversity to support equality initiatives in the energy sector; and allow businesses in the energy sector to improve industry-led workforce planning, support business opportunities and direct industry investment.
The Clean Energy Council endorses the AEER, saying to better understand and anticipate future workforce needs, detailed analysis and forecasting is essential to maximise the opportunities presented by Australia’s clean energy transformation.
“The AEER will go a long way to ensuring the clean energy sector has the workforce required to deliver the 141GW of large-scale wind and solar capacity, 63GW of storage and hydro capacity, and 69GW of small-scale solar and household batteries needed by 2050 to maintain reliability and keep prices down,” says Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton.
“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.
“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 and set us up to become a global clean energy superpower, creating an extraordinary legacy for Australian workers.”
The AEER survey is open until 30 April, 2023, and can be found at consult.dcceew.gov.au/aeer.