❓ Question regarding the Cook Labor government's Clean Energy Skills National Centre of Excellence, focusing on its impact on Western Australians and job creation. The Minister's response highlights the collaboration with the federal government and the potential for job growth in the clean energy sector.
AnsweredQoN 380Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CLEAN ENERGY SKILLS
NATIONAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
380. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Minister for Training and
Workforce Development:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's delivery of Australia's first
Clean Energy Skills National Centre of Excellence.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house how the Centre of Excellence will put Western Australians
at the forefront of Australia's clean energy transition?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house how the centre will support Western Australia in
creating new quality local jobs in the energy transition?
(3) Is this
another example of the Cook Labor government doing what is right for Western Australia?
NATIONAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
380. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Minister for Training and
Workforce Development:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's delivery of Australia's first
Clean Energy Skills National Centre of Excellence.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house how the Centre of Excellence will put Western Australians
at the forefront of Australia's clean energy transition?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house how the centre will support Western Australia in
creating new quality local jobs in the energy transition?
(3) Is this
another example of the Cook Labor government doing what is right for Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
Before I answer this question, I will
just clear something up for the parliamentary record that the member for
Bateman said during the previous debate in which she tried to lay claim to Sam
Kerr being from her electorate. In fact, as I understand it, Sam Kerr has
bought property in my electorate of Fremantle. I will also draw her attention
to escape.com.au. When Sam Kerr was asked for her favourite place to holiday in
Australia, she said —
Western Australia, of course—my
home state. I love going back home to Fremantle, it's where I get the
best coffee, see my friends and get to spend quality time with the family.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister!
Ms S.F. McGURK : I am just
saying it for the record.
The SPEAKER : I think that has
nothing to do with the question you were asked.
Ms S.F. McGURK : You are
entirely correct. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
(1)–(3) I am also very pleased to talk about the
announcement that we made this week with the federal government. It will be not only a Clean Energy Skills National
Centre of Excellence, but the national centre for excellence here in Western
Australia. It is the first major national centre of excellence for skills in
the country. It is for clean energy and will be here in Western Australia. I
thank the federal government for its cooperation, not only for the new
five-year skills agreement, but also for the vote of confidence that this
national centre for excellence is for our state. It is not only a vote of
confidence for Western Australia and its capacity to leverage off our current
industry and oil and gas resources throughout the length and breadth of our
state as we transition to clean energy; it is also a vote of confidence in Western
Australia's vocational training sector. That includes, of course, our
TAFEs as the heart of the system, and our private registered training
organisations as well. Of course, that has all been supported by the Cook Labor
government, which put not only more resources into our vocational training
sector, but also thoughtful application into how those resources are applied.
It is a great announcement for Western Australia and, in fact, for the country
as we deal with the challenges of transitioning to clean energy.
We made the announcement at South
Metropolitan TAFE's campus in Munster. Some people might be aware of it. It is actually the Australian Centre
for Energy and Process Training. There are very few of these facilities
around the world at which industry partners with a vocational training
organisation like TAFE to do energy training, process training, automation
training, operation training et cetera. Industry donates a lot of equipment and
is really at the centre of that campus. Industry drives cooperation with the
training organisation to make sure that it
can get people with the right skills. We delivered the announcement at the TAFE campus, and it was great to meet the
students who are studying courses in electrical instrumentation ,
automation, alternative energy sources and, as I said, processing and
operations. Those students will stand to benefit from the sorts of partnerships
that will be driven by the centre for excellence. It was also really great to
meet a number of women who are training to be electricians. This is a key
demographic whom we need to attract into our clean energy workforce.
The
numbers are very stark, not only for the amount of investment that the state is
putting into clean energy , which is around $200 billion across a whole
range of areas, but also for the projections of the sort of jobs that will be
created from this transition. That is huge. For the next 25 years, from 2025 to
2050, it is estimated that about 350 000 jobs will be linked to clean energy.
If we look at just the next seven years, it is estimated that Western Australia
will need somewhere between 30 000 and 40 000 more electricians; that is just
electricians. There are huge opportunities in the design, construction and
operation of clean energy in all its forms—renewables, wind, solar,
hydrogen, batteries and also, of course, transmission.
I
want to talk briefly about the model for the national centre for excellence.
Although it will have an office in
the CBD, which will be a place where industry and the public can come and
interface with it, it is actually built from a network of existing TAFE
colleges throughout our state. The strength of our model is that we need to
leverage off not only the industry around the state but also the clean energy
transition that will occur, whether it be in the Kimberley, the Pilbara, the
midwest, Geraldton and the like, the goldfields, the great southern, the south
west or our metropolitan area. All the regions' needs will be different
throughout the state, and it is important that our training system not only
understands the needs of industry and the energy transition but also trains
local people for those jobs. If there is a better story than how the Cook Labor government is investing in our regions, it
is how we are investing in TAFE and the vocational training system in
our regions. It is absolutely spectacular and a huge uplift. It is a capital
injection of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in TAFE facilities around
the state, particularly in the regions; 60 per cent of that investment will be
in the regions. It is a huge opportunity.
I
again thank the federal government in this instance for its vote of confidence
in Western Australia and the Cook
Labor government for its vocational training system. Our message to everyone in
Western Australia, particularly to
families and young people, is that there are exciting, well-paid and
long-lasting jobs in clean energy. If people want to learn, we want to
train them. Jobs are up for grabs, and the national centre for excellence in
clean energy skills will help to facilitate that.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Calm down.
just clear something up for the parliamentary record that the member for
Bateman said during the previous debate in which she tried to lay claim to Sam
Kerr being from her electorate. In fact, as I understand it, Sam Kerr has
bought property in my electorate of Fremantle. I will also draw her attention
to escape.com.au. When Sam Kerr was asked for her favourite place to holiday in
Australia, she said —
Western Australia, of course—my
home state. I love going back home to Fremantle, it's where I get the
best coffee, see my friends and get to spend quality time with the family.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister!
Ms S.F. McGURK : I am just
saying it for the record.
The SPEAKER : I think that has
nothing to do with the question you were asked.
Ms S.F. McGURK : You are
entirely correct. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
(1)–(3) I am also very pleased to talk about the
announcement that we made this week with the federal government. It will be not only a Clean Energy Skills National
Centre of Excellence, but the national centre for excellence here in Western
Australia. It is the first major national centre of excellence for skills in
the country. It is for clean energy and will be here in Western Australia. I
thank the federal government for its cooperation, not only for the new
five-year skills agreement, but also for the vote of confidence that this
national centre for excellence is for our state. It is not only a vote of
confidence for Western Australia and its capacity to leverage off our current
industry and oil and gas resources throughout the length and breadth of our
state as we transition to clean energy; it is also a vote of confidence in Western
Australia's vocational training sector. That includes, of course, our
TAFEs as the heart of the system, and our private registered training
organisations as well. Of course, that has all been supported by the Cook Labor
government, which put not only more resources into our vocational training
sector, but also thoughtful application into how those resources are applied.
It is a great announcement for Western Australia and, in fact, for the country
as we deal with the challenges of transitioning to clean energy.
We made the announcement at South
Metropolitan TAFE's campus in Munster. Some people might be aware of it. It is actually the Australian Centre
for Energy and Process Training. There are very few of these facilities
around the world at which industry partners with a vocational training
organisation like TAFE to do energy training, process training, automation
training, operation training et cetera. Industry donates a lot of equipment and
is really at the centre of that campus. Industry drives cooperation with the
training organisation to make sure that it
can get people with the right skills. We delivered the announcement at the TAFE campus, and it was great to meet the
students who are studying courses in electrical instrumentation ,
automation, alternative energy sources and, as I said, processing and
operations. Those students will stand to benefit from the sorts of partnerships
that will be driven by the centre for excellence. It was also really great to
meet a number of women who are training to be electricians. This is a key
demographic whom we need to attract into our clean energy workforce.
The
numbers are very stark, not only for the amount of investment that the state is
putting into clean energy , which is around $200 billion across a whole
range of areas, but also for the projections of the sort of jobs that will be
created from this transition. That is huge. For the next 25 years, from 2025 to
2050, it is estimated that about 350 000 jobs will be linked to clean energy.
If we look at just the next seven years, it is estimated that Western Australia
will need somewhere between 30 000 and 40 000 more electricians; that is just
electricians. There are huge opportunities in the design, construction and
operation of clean energy in all its forms—renewables, wind, solar,
hydrogen, batteries and also, of course, transmission.
I
want to talk briefly about the model for the national centre for excellence.
Although it will have an office in
the CBD, which will be a place where industry and the public can come and
interface with it, it is actually built from a network of existing TAFE
colleges throughout our state. The strength of our model is that we need to
leverage off not only the industry around the state but also the clean energy
transition that will occur, whether it be in the Kimberley, the Pilbara, the
midwest, Geraldton and the like, the goldfields, the great southern, the south
west or our metropolitan area. All the regions' needs will be different
throughout the state, and it is important that our training system not only
understands the needs of industry and the energy transition but also trains
local people for those jobs. If there is a better story than how the Cook Labor government is investing in our regions, it
is how we are investing in TAFE and the vocational training system in
our regions. It is absolutely spectacular and a huge uplift. It is a capital
injection of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in TAFE facilities around
the state, particularly in the regions; 60 per cent of that investment will be
in the regions. It is a huge opportunity.
I
again thank the federal government in this instance for its vote of confidence
in Western Australia and the Cook
Labor government for its vocational training system. Our message to everyone in
Western Australia, particularly to
families and young people, is that there are exciting, well-paid and
long-lasting jobs in clean energy. If people want to learn, we want to
train them. Jobs are up for grabs, and the national centre for excellence in
clean energy skills will help to facilitate that.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Calm down.
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