The Victorian Government is building a skilled workforce to power the state’s renewable energy future, giving investors and developers confidence they can access the talent needed to deliver successful clean energy projects.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio opened tenders for a delivery partner for Victoria’s Wind Worker Training Centre – backed by a $4.9 million investment to ensure Victoria has a strong pipeline of skilled workers in renewable energy for the future.
The centre will deliver training for the onshore and offshore wind sectors, and the provider must work collaboratively with industry and other stakeholders to ensure the training responds directly to the skills needed on the job.
The training will be inclusive of all skill and career levels, ensuring there is opportunity for existing workers to retrain and upskill, including Gippsland coal station workers that want to transition to Victoria’s nation-leading offshore wind industry.
As well as specialist energy roles, the onshore and offshore wind sectors will provide job opportunities in other fields that support the delivery of projects such as accounting, information technology and community engagement.
Victoria’s energy workforce is projected to grow to over 67,000 workers in 2040, more than doubling the current size of the industry – with a peak of 4,269 workers in onshore wind and 2,370 in offshore wind during construction.
This investment in wind energy training is essential to building up the skilled workforce needed to support the planning, construction, and operations of new renewable energy projects and meet Victoria’s ambitious renewable energy targets.
Victoria is on track to deliver its renewable energy generation target of 95 percent by 2035 – onshore and offshore wind are key components of this goal.
The Government recently released its Offshore Wind Energy Implementation Statement 4, which updated the community on the Victoria’s progress to deliver the legislated targets of 2 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2032, 4 GW by 2035 and 9 GW by 2040.
Applications for the Wind Worker Training Centre tender is now open and will close 5pm Wednesday, 16 July.
For more information on how to apply, visit energy.vic.gov.au/grants/wind-worker-training-centre-grant
Read more about opportunities in Victoria's clean energy sector.
