Stakeholders across the industry have attended the NBA 2030 Renewable Workforce Roundtable to chart a path towards building the workforce needed to meet the challenges of the energy transition.

The NSW government said that the roundtable continues its commitment to ensuring the clean energy transition creates new local, secure jobs in both metropolitan and regional NSW.

Representatives from dozens of organisations joined the NSW Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan and NSW Jobs Advocate, Mark Apthorpe, to discuss opportunities and strategies. Participants included industry bodies, unions, educators and government agencies.

The New South Wales Government said that it is already taking action to create local, secure jobs and ensure people in the industry are able to transition to work in renewables. This includes:

• Launching $275 million in grants under the Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative, to secure New South Wales as the place to develop and manufacture clean technology and create new jobs in the process
• Setting workforce requirements through the Renewable Energy Sector Board’s plan and Roadmap tenders
• Establishing a First Nations coordination team within EnergyCo and developing First Nations Guidelines with key Aboriginal community representatives and government agencies to build pathways to employment
• Funding employment initiatives for local communities
• Introducing eight new TAFE NSW microskill courses related to renewables, including Hydrogen Energy Fundamentals and preparing to work in the renewable energy sector

New South Wales Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Penny Sharpe, says that delivering the energy transition is a big challenge that comes with real opportunities for thousands of good, local and secure jobs.

“The NSW 2030 Renewable Workforce Roundtable brought together the brains and experience across the Hunter and beyond to help ensure the workforce plan for the Renewable Energy Zones will deliver skills, training and jobs across the state now and into the future,” she says.