The Australian Government has commissioned Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) to undertake a capacity study on the workforce needs for Australia’s transition to a clean energy economy. The capacity study will build on existing research and deepen our understanding of the clean energy sector by:

• clarifying what jobs and industries make up Australia’s clean energy workforce
• analysing different scenarios for how we could reach net zero by 2050, understanding how many workers will be needed (and where) and who will have the skills to take on those jobs
• exploring how the workforce opportunities created by clean energy can be shared across regions and with First Nations Australians, women, people with disability and Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• examining the possibilities for workers in emission intensive sectors to transition to new roles in their communities that will build on their existing skills and experience
• identifying the education, training and migration pathways that we should be developing, and the underlying system settings needed to enable those pathways.

Partnering with stakeholders and specialists will ensure we develop a complete view of the sector’s current and emerging workforce needs. A project steering group has been established and includes members from across industry, unions, training providers, state governments, research organisations and the Commonwealth.\

JSA has committed to delivering an interim report to the Australian Government by May 2023 and a final report by mid-2023. JSA will also be publishing several accompanying resources over the coming months. Click here to learn more. 

JSA has compiled a resource library to provide readers with reports, research and other resources on the clean energy workforce transition in Australia and internationally. View the library here.