One week to go: Help us count all energy efficiency jobs in the Australian Energy Employment Report survey
Holly Taylor
Passionate advocate for delivering an equitable, prosperous and net zero emissions tomorrow.
There's just one week left to complete the inaugural Australian Energy Employment Report (AEER) survey!
The AEER is a national survey of businesses and organisations in the Australian energy sector, designed to demonstrate the size and composition of Australia’s energy workforce. The survey has been released by the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), and we encourage you to complete the survey by Sunday 30 April.
Why does it matter?
Capacity constraint is one of, if not the biggest, barriers to delivering net zero.
If we don't have enough people on the ground to do all the necessary energy upgrades and associated activities, we simply can't decarbonise.
While we all know the labour market is tight, we don't actually know how many energy auditors, net zero business advisors, and insulation installers Australia has. This means we can't tell an accurate story to government about how big the gap is between what we have, and what we need.
The data provided by the AEER survey will enable us to effectively plan for and support the growth of the energy sector – including energy efficiency and energy management workers – to ensure we have enough people to actually deliver the energy upgrades necessary to realise a prosperous, equitable net zero Australia.
This first iteration is not the complete AEER survey. But that doesn't mean you should skip it!
The second release – expected for 2024 – will ask more granular questions about the energy products and services each responding organisation provides. This will enable us to accurately capture energy efficiency and management jobs, and work with government to develop policies and programs that drive workers into our sector.
To ensure DCCEEW has the funds to design and deliver the full AEER survey in FY23/24, we implore you to fill in this inaugural survey. By doing so, you're helping DCCEEW build the business case for appropriately funding, designing and delivering the AEER next year and beyond.
Why do I keep harping on about the AEER?
Because I am listening to you, our members and stakeholders. A week doesn't go by where I don't get a call asking if I know anyone looking for a new job. It's the same for Luke Menzel and Katie Bartrop . You're telling us we need more boots, brogues and heels on the ground, and we're pulling all the levers we can to make that happen
The EEC led the charge for the development of the AEER, but we're doing much more to support the growth of energy efficiency jobs and skills. From launching EEC Professional Certifications, to mapping the commercial buildings and residential buildings energy upgrades workforces, to developing new training and shouting from the rooftops that we need to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in our sector, we're committed to growing the energy management workforce and delivering net zero.
If you have any questions about the AEER and why it's so critical, or any of our other workforce development initiatives, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or anyone in the team - ping Toby L. and Nat Corveddu !