Workforce plan highlights skills shortfalls

According to PSO’s 2025 Workforce Plan, Australia needs to train 42,000 new tradespeople by 2030 to meet the country’s energy transition needs. This would mean creating 22,000 more “energy apprentice” positions than are currently available across the country.

There are many occupations and apprenticeships that fall under the federal government’s New Energy Apprenticeships Program. Among these are air conditioning and refrigeration technicians, mechanical services technicians and mechanical services plumbers, for which a range of refrigeration and air conditioning training courses are eligible. Those who undertake these training courses are considered energy apprentices.

Multi-pronged apprentice challenge

The report finds that Australia needs to boost energy apprentice numbers by around 40% in the next five years to meet its net zero goals. According to PSO, this presents a significant challenge for several reasons.

The first is that apprenticeships are often seen as a second-choice pathway, with research showing that 78% of students plan to attend university and only 10% consider an apprenticeship. Despite this, demand for apprenticeships in many fields continues to outpace businesses’ and training institutions’ capacity to take on new learners.

Another issue is that up to three-quarters of employers offering energy apprenticeships are in the “micro”, “small”, or “medium” category, and they take on apprentices with little to no financial gain. Third- and fourth-year apprentices are commonly “poached” by larger companies, further reducing the incentive for smaller businesses to invest the time and effort into trainees.

Finally, many training institutions are struggling, with 79% reporting to PSO that they need more teachers, with low pay discouraging potential educators to take on these positions. For 77% of training institutions, a lack of infrastructure is causing problems, including long wait times and delays in commencements.

The path forward

To help resolve these challenges, PSO has outlined 31 actions that need to be taken – 15 of which are already being implemented, with a further 16 proposed.

Among the proposed actions are:

• Research projects to understand the benefits of undertaking apprenticeships, remove barriers to entry, reduce wait times, and find ways to improve support for mature-aged apprentices
• Policy and advocacy projects to clarify the role of post-trade training for energy workers
• Workforce projects to develop bodies and educational resources that would improve training, strengthen connections between training providers and industry, and better connect apprentices to potential employers.

Actions already being implemented include:

• Workforce projects to increase First Nations participation in energy apprenticeships
• Mapping state and territory licensing and regulations
• Consolidation of competency development units
• Reviewing why enrolments are low in some courses
• Creating a VET workforce blueprint.

You can read the full list of actions in the report – enter 170 into the page search function.

---