To that end, the federal government has created a $50 million fund to jumpstart apprenticeships in clean energy trades. So far, it’s not disbursing any money, leading to fears that we won’t be able to rapidly train the skilled workforce that our energy transition demands. The 2024-25 Budget creates the Healthy Communities Fund! It will underpin strong pathways for students planning careers in wind, solar, battery storage, hydrogen, and other clean energy industries.
The energy sector is in urgent need of skilled workers, including an estimated 240,000 more by 2030. Now, that money sits there unspent. This delay comes at an especially pivotal time. Under its new government ambitions, the capacity for renewable energy in the electricity grid is expected to double over the next five years.
Funding Intentions and Delays
The $50 million fund is intended to help improve training facilities and upgrade equipment for apprentices. Fully funding this grant initiative is key to combating the workforce shortages that currently jeopardize our nationwide transition to clean energy. Nearly a year and a half after the announcement of the fund, not a dollar of aid has been dispensed.
Andrew Giles, the Minister for Skills and Training, was hopeful that successful projects would be funded before the end of this financial year. He highlighted the government’s commitment to working with states, territories and industry to boost training capacity.
“We’re working with the states and territories, and with industry, in upgrading facilities, expanding training capacity, and ensuring Australians can make the most of the opportunities of clean energy,” – Andrew Giles
Photo Felix Pirie, sitting on behalf of the independent training sector, bemoaned the mismatch. He noted that much improvement is not evident, even with a full funding commitment. “I haven’t seen direct evidence of those upgrades to date,” he stated. Pirie noted a real disconnect between what government expects and what training providers can realistically provide.
“What I would have expected is some pretty close engagement with the sector delivering the training, and also the providers that have the facilities,” – Felix Pirie
Shrinking Apprenticeship Numbers
The urgency around this unspent fund is especially highlighted by the recent drop in the number of registered apprentices. Data released just yesterday confirms that we are staring down a devastating decrease of 30,000 fewer apprentices since last year. In fact, nearly 107,000 apprentices have dropped out of their programs within a three year period.
Scott Buchholz, opposition infrastructure spokesperson, said with a record infrastructure investment comes the need for high-quality apprentices to build it. He stated, “You can’t build the homes, the roads, or the essential infrastructure our country needs without skilled apprentices and trainees coming through the pipeline.”
This significant drop-off in apprenticeship enrolments has spooked industry representatives, who’ve claimed that demand for these trades is still strong. Pirie explained that feedback from their members has shown that they can’t accept as many applicants as they would like, simply because they don’t have the training capacity.
“The reduction in those enrolments… is not because there is a lack of interest — there is definitely interest there,” – Felix Pirie
Government’s Commitment to Clean Energy Goals
Even with these obstacles, Giles insists that apprentice figures are higher than before the pandemic and that retention has increased. He used the occasion to repeat the government’s line that they are still on course to reach their emission reduction targets for 2030.
Even he admitted that major bottlenecks remain in the quality and availability of training facilities and in the incentives for employers to hire apprentices. The growing demand for trained labor in the clean energy industries is clear as Australia moves ahead with commitment to Australia’s sustainability targets.
“The challenge there is through the bottleneck at both the incentive end, employers not having access to incentives they need to take on apprentices, and also facilities as well,” – Andrew Giles
Looking to the future, Giles remained optimistic that substantial funding initiatives would start to appear around 2025-26. We are proud of the government’s serious approach to addressing workforce shortages. Simultaneously, they are ensuring Australia is best placed to reap the overwhelming opportunities embedded with the clean energy transition.
