Self-employment in the energy labour market is on the rise with self-employment at its highest level since 2017 according to research by Minding Their Own Business: Exploring Self-Employment in the Energy Labour Market research, released by Powering Skills Organisation (PSO).

Additionally, about 21% of energy workers in six critical energy occupations are self-employed, higher than the Australian workforce average of 16%.

“This could be due to the pandemic-era stimulus, causing high demand in building services and construction,” PSO chief executive Anthea Middleton says.

The data from PSO, a jobs and skills council set up by the federal government to oversee training and skills in the energy sector, shows one in five electricians, who make up half of the 290,000 workers across these six critical energy occupations, are their own boss. Airconditioning and refrigeration mechanics are the second largest employing group and are the most entrepreneurial with 39% self-employed.

Anthea says there appear to be three reasons for the rise in self-employment: choice, industry influence and industry need, with people choosing self-employment to work independently or to build their own businesses in the future. They’re also inspired by self-employed role models in their industry and self-employment benefits to provide flexibility and specialised skills to meet varying demands.