• National target of 62-70 percent to create 25k jobs per year
• Electrical training must scale up to meet demand
• Energy transition needs energy workers, electrification needs electricians
Australia’s 62-70 percent 2035 carbon reduction target will create 25,000 jobs per year for electrical, construction and services workers, in addition to 64,000 jobs per year in energy generation and transmission infrastructure enabled by the 2030 target.
Hitting this target will mean dramatically scaling up training so young people get the skills to wire Australia into the future economy. If we do this successfully and hit our 2035 target, we can expect a boost to GDP of $143 billion according to Deloitte modelling.
It will also set Australia up for longer-term prosperity because of our comparative emission and energy advantages, driving increased exports.
Hitting the target means training and retaining electrical workers. We are already looking at an electrician shortage of 42,500 by 2030, so this is urgent.
We must dramatically scale up our training of electrical workers by:
• Boosting industry-led training as part of our TAFE systems to meet skills demand
• Supporting industry-led Group Training Organisations in every renewable energy zones
• Delivery fit for purpose mentoring for apprentices to boost retention rates
Electrical Trades Union National Secretary Michael Wright said the energy transition could boost living standards and support future industries if we hit the national target.
“The first step is setting a target” Mr Wright said. “That’s done. Now we need to hit it.”
“This whole thing is an electrical project, so it needs electricians – more than 100,000 extra by 2050.
“The energy transition is not the resources boom – it’s happening everywhere in the world at once. There’s nowhere to fly the skilled workers from this time. It’s train or fail.
“We need to dramatically expand industry-led training as part of our TAFE and training systems. This has a 90 percent completion rate, compared to 58 percent in the wider sector.
“This should work alongside industry-led group training organisations in every renewable energy zone so we can put the training where the work is day-to-day.
“We need much better support and mentoring so apprentices learn to work safe, get trained well on the tools and in the classroom – mentoring that works for apprentices, not the other way around.
“We need mandatory apprentice training on every project backed by public money in the transition so local kids get the skills for a career where they wire their country into the future
economy, and the country gets the jobs, opportunities and industries that come with hitting the target.
“Time to get to work.”