Government commits to Australian Energy Employment Report

Clean energy is a multi-billion-dollar sector that employs hundreds of thousands of Australians. However, the jobs across the whole energy sector including renewable energy and energy efficiency have never been systemically counted. Australia is to adopt the United States’ gold standard of measuring energy sector jobs with the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) announcing their commitment to delivering the inaugural Australian Energy Employment Report (AEER). This survey will identify jobs and skills in the energy sector to train and prepare the workforce of the future.

The AEER is a key outcome of research by the Reliable Affordable Clean Energy Cooperative Research Centre (RACE for 2030) 2021 report: Developing the Future Energy Workforce.

RACE for 2030’s CEO, Jon Jutsen said: “We welcome the commitment of the Commonwealth Government at this crucial time to understand employment in the energy sector. The clean energy transition will cause a dramatic shift in employment. New skills and resources are needed to ensure the transition provides the greatest employment opportunities, and benefits Australia both environmentally and economically.”

To date, there has not been a systemic national framework to measure or forecast Australia’s clean energy jobs needs. The AEER is an important step in addressing this gap and will allow both industry and government to capture the economic opportunities as the Australian energy sector transitions to net zero carbon emissions.

“Australia’s energy transition is proceeding rapidly. This survey will provide up-to-date information on energy jobs across the sector. We look forward to collaborating with DISER and our partners to deliver the inaugural AEER over the coming year” said Dr Jessica Breadsell, RACE for Everyone Program Co-Leader.

RACE for 2030 gratefully acknowledge our partners who contributed to Developing the Future Energy Workforce report: UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, Monash University, Energy Efficiency Council, ClimateKIC, Startupbootcamp, Energy Lab and the Australian Power Institute.

You can find our research reports on the RACE for 2030 website: https://racefor2030.com.au/opportunity-assessment-reports/