Gas Industry NTAG portal

EE-Oz Training Standards is the Australian Government’s declared Industry Skills Council for the Australian ElectroComms and EnergyUtilities Industries. In this capacity EE-Oz represents the Gas Supply Industry (GSI) which is responsible for gas transmission and distribution from wellhead to consumer access point, both through an extensive pipeline network and appropriate storage vessels.

The GSI has experienced rapid growth over the past 20 years and this trend is expected to continue. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) expect gas to be the fastest growing source of energy in Australia over the next few decades and predict that domestic gas demand will double over the next 20 years and exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) will increase by a larger factor. In the 18 months to April 2010, 11 of the 24 completed electricity generation projects in Australia were gas fired. These 11 gas fired power stations accounted for 73% of the total new capacity, 3,530MW of total 4,864.

The following sections provide a broad summary of factors that are affecting, or expected to affect, the future demand for training in the Australian Gas Supply Industry

· National Licensing

On 30 April 2009 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed an agreement for a national licencing system for economically important trades. This system will encourage workforce mobility by removing inconsistencies in regulation, allowing for the effective distribution of skills throughout the economy. While no occupations central to the Gas Supply Industry have been identified for inclusion in the first round of licencing rationalisation due 1 July 2012, the sector remains hopeful it will soon benefit from this initiative.  (Click here to read more on this topic)

· Comprehensive Industry Survey

Acting upon industry concerns, EE-Oz Training Standards, with the support of LPG Australia and APIA, has petitioned DEEWR to conduct a comprehensive sector survey of the Gas Supply Industry to quantify the demand and availability of skills.  (Click here to read more on this topic)

· Apprenticeships and Traineeships in the Gas Supply Industry

Nationally both ‘apprenticeships’ and ‘traineeships’ fall under the auspices of the Australian Apprenticeship System. While there is no barrier nationally to classifying training as either an ‘apprenticeship’ or a traineeship, individual states may intercede on a basis of either the rigor or duration of training.  (Click here to read more on this topic)

· Training Package

In response to industry advice that the endorsed UEG06 Gas Industry Training Package is deficient in the specification of Essential Knowledge and Associated Skills (EKAS), EE-Oz has initiated a review of the EKAS in this Training Package to coincide with the revision required under the new NQC guidelines. (Click here to read more on this topic)

· Transition to a Low Carbon Economy

Although the nature and timing of Australia’s transition to a low carbon economy is unclear, this transition appears inevitable with high levels of bipartisan public support. This transition is expected to significantly elevate the role of gas in the nation’s energy mix, particularly again more polluting hydrocarbon energy sources such as coal and petrol.  (Click here to read more on this topic)

· Gas Skills Summit

The Gas Skills Summit held at GippsTAFE on the 9 February 2010 allowed key industry representatives to identify and discuss Workforce Development issues within the Gas Industry. A number of issues were acknowledged at the summit and have been identified for future action.  (Click here to read more on this topic)

· Founding of new Technical Advisory Committees (TAC)

Part of EE-Oz’s renewed focus on the Gas Training Package has involved actively seeking industry representatives to revitalise the development process. This effort has been rewarded with an overwhelming response from industry, allowing the formation of three new Technical Advisory Committees (TACs).  (Click here to read more on this topic)

· Auspice agreements between enterprise and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)

In response to industry reports of difficulty in engaging Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to deliver training, EE-Oz have produced a draft Auspice MOU document. This publicly available document provides the basis for a partnership arrangement between enterprise and an RTO, in order to have training and assessment recognised under the National Training Framework.  (Click here to read more on this topic)

· Resourcing the Future report

The recent Resourcing the Future report examined the impact of new gas projects on labour markets as part of its wider review on the resource sector.

While the tone of this report is optimistic, highlighting the large number of new projects set to come online in the short to medium term, there is palpable concern about the ability of the sector to expand under existing labour market conditions. The report predicts a shortfall of 36,000 tradespeople in the resources sector by 2015. The report recognises that skills shortages constrain output and investment, lead to wage cost inflation and lower the rates of productivity and innovation across the economy. Accordingly, the report focuses on strategies to minimise the effects of skills shortages.  (Click here to read more on this topic)