How to maximise local employment and industry opportunities as we move towards a renewable energy future.
Australia’s recent change in government has seen the transition to renewable energy gather pace.
With this in mind, it’s important to ensure local workers, communities and industries all reap the full economic benefits of the transition. Plentiful green jobs are inevitable. However, governments must offer skills, infrastructure and employment support to help workers make the switch.
The NSW Renewable Energy Sector Board (RESB) commissioned the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) to assess the employment and industry development opportunities under the establishment of Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) in five regions of NSW.
The project focused on mapping renewable energy supply chains and evaluated the capacity of regional areas to increase local employment and industry development from hosting the new REZs. ISF produced a report that provides advice to the RESB, as an input to its plan for renewable energy to the Minister for Energy and Environment.
This research has informed the NSW RESB plan, which was endorsed and published by the NSW Government in September 2022. The plan includes a large number of recommendations and actions from ISF's research report.
The recommended policy initiatives that have been picked up and focused on include:
-
long term planning for local content, jobs and skills
-
supply chain development
-
skills and training.
The NSW Government has agreed to support many of the actions to come out of the report. In response to ISF’s recommendations, the Minister for Energy and Environment has agreed to the establishment of a $250m fund for renewable energy manufacturing and development of a NSW renewables training strategy.
These recommendations have identified opportunities for increasing labour supply, creating more on-shore manufacturing and improving employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged groups.
ISF’s research is being continually developed to provide timely, practical advice on the clean energy transition.
more information
Employment, Skills and Supply Chains: Renewable Energy in NSW (Project page)