Job and Skills Australia (JSA) reports in its latest newsletter of 2 March 2023 that The Government has commissioned JSA to undertake a capacity study on the workforce needs for Australia’s transition to a clean energy economy.  

A summary of the study states, it “will provide critical evidence and insights to support workforce planning, policy development and program design, needed to build a strong and vibrant Clean Energy sector, and contribute to the Government’s Powering Australia Plan.”

The Terms of Reference for the study are: The “Study will identify and analyse occupations, supply and demand factors and geographical considerations to support Australia’s transition from ‘brown’ to ‘green’ energy.  It will:

1. Develop an appropriate definition of the Australian clean energy workforce.
2. Establish the current state of the clean energy workforce – including a demographic overview, numbers of employers, job vacancies, and reliance on international specialists.
3. Analyse future demand (at the national, state and regional level) for clean energy roles over the next 30 years in the context of Australia’s transition plans, alongside the impact on demand for employment in high-emitting sectors undergoing transition.
4. Analyse the potential supply (at the national, state and regional level) of clean energy workers over the next 30 years.
5. Explore sector specific barriers faced by small, medium, and large employers in employing and retaining a skilled, diverse workforce in the clean energy sector.
6. Explore opportunities for, and barriers to, full participation in the clean energy sector for priority cohorts, including women, First Nations Australians, people with a disability and culturally and linguistically diverse Australians.
7. Consider the experiences of the transition to clean energy in other countries, especially those that have also traditionally relied on high-emissions forms of energy generation and analyse the impact of international initiatives on the global skilled workforce.