Doorstop interview, Morwell

JAMES MONTGOMERY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER TAFE GIPPSLAND: Welcome, everybody. We're here at TAFE Gippsland’s Morwell campus, and we've got both Minister Brooks and Minister Giles here today with an exciting announcement. So without any further ado, I'll hand over to them.

ANDREW GILES, MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING: Thanks very much, James. It's great to be here at TAFE Gippsland’s Morwell campus, and thank you for your really generous hospitality. I'm really pleased also to be here with my colleague and friend, Minister Colin Brooks, the new Minister for Skills and TAFE amongst many other things in the Allan Government, of course, Minister Harriet Shing, the local member, and maybe most importantly, two apprentices who can speak to the importance of this investment, in Tom and Adam.

Today, we're announcing another Centre of Excellence, the 18th TAFE Centre of Excellence that’s been announced under the National Skills Agreement. This one's all about clean energy skills, and it's all about a commitment to this region. A $50 million commitment jointly funded by the Albanese Federal Government and the Allan Government here in Victoria that will enable people in Gippsland and in Melbourne, where the partnership is also [indistinct] TAFE to develop and utilise absolutely cutting-edge skills when it comes to renewables at every stage.

We know that this part of Victoria has been powering our state and our nation for a long time. That's going to continue. I'm really optimistic for the future, but I also know that there's a big opportunity and responsibility for governments to continue to invest. We also know that when it comes to clean energy skills, we can't sit on our hands. Technology is changing. We've got to make sure that the workforce is equipped to respond to so that we can take advantage of the technological developments and realise our net zero ambitions. This is a real statement of intent on behalf of both of our governments around realising all of those opportunities, and especially to make sure that they can be realised here in Gippsland. So Colin, over to you.

COLIN BROOKS, VICTORIAN MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TAFE: Thanks very much, Andrew. We're absolutely delighted to be partnering with the Federal Government in delivering this Centre of Excellence here for renewable energy. This is all about the economy but also very much about people right across Victoria, in particular locally here in the Gippsland region. This Centre of Excellence will provide the skills for people to deliver jobs into the future, good jobs in a range of skills. If you look around the centre already, electric vehicles, air conditioning, batteries, a range of applications that people can skill up in. This is about TAFE's system meeting industry where it is at the moment and making sure that we've also got plans for the future. So this clean energy approach is exactly what this particular part of the world needs, and we're absolutely rapt to be back on [indistinct] with the funding we're providing to this particular Centre of Excellence, but also across our whole TAFE network through Free TAFE and the expansion of campuses across Victoria.

TAFE's a great leveller in our society to provide people, particularly working families, with opportunities to either re-skill or for young people to be able to get the skills they need to get a job that's a good job into the future. And it's great to meet a couple of the young apprentices here today, Tom and Adam, who are excelling at their particular trades, in the electrical trades, but also, no doubt, will be great contributors to their local community as they continue to go around as qualified tradesmen next year, I think. So this is a great story for Victoria and Australia, but also for Gippsland as well. We're absolutely thrilled to be back.

HARRIET SHING, MEMBER FOR EASTERN VICTORIA: Year on year, we've invested in TAFE training and skills development across Gippsland, and people would know that this site was empty when we were first elected to government. Since then, we've seen a huge amount of development and investment, not just in the sort of facilities that people need to learn and to learn well, but also in the forces and skills and opportunities for people who call Gippsland home, who don't have to go further afield to study or to get a qualification, and can stay here with their families to have a really good, well-paying career. We're really grateful for everything that all of our TAFE teachers and staff do every single day across Gippsland, and we're grateful to everyone who has enabled the [indistinct] in our Free TAFE list to be able to be taken up in record numbers. This translates to jobs, it translates to people being able to contribute to the local economy, and it translates to the sort of opportunities that people want closer to home.

GILES: Are there any questions?

JOURNALIST: So how much did this facility cost? How much did the Federal Government contribute?

GILES: We’ve put in $25 million and the state's put in $25 million for this. There have been some additional investments, which I think Colin touched upon and he might expand on that. So here, there's a $15 million direct investment in capital, which is something we've been talking about, about enabling the digital classrooms, some of those things that we've been walking through, building on some existing investments. $25 million of the joint investment is about ongoing development of course materials, recognising that nothing is standing still and we really need to enable that industry-led approach to dynamic skills development to be benefited by students in Gippsland, apprentices and other students, but people right around the country as well.

JOURNALIST: And so, will there be new courses as part of TAFE here, or will it be added onto existing courses?

GILES: We're going to see a bit of both. I mean, one thing that I won't speak on directly, we've got a qualified but probably not currently licenced electrician, I won't speak to that here. We're seeing real changes in a lot of trades as everything gets electrified and other technological developments, particularly AI. So the work of curriculum development across all of our qualifications is ongoing work. But what we're seeing here is a real demand for upskilling and re-skilling. A lot of tradespeople are already coming here to refresh their skills when it comes to battery technology, for example. So, there'll be short courses that’ll be a big part of it as well as that refreshing of the more formal long-form qualifications.

JOURNALIST: And for power station workers in Gippsland, will there be opportunity for them to come here and upskill so they can work in these new industries?

GILES: For sure. I mean, a big part of our story is about making sure, working together, the Allan Government here in Victoria and the Albanese Government, that everyone gets the opportunity to get skills they want to do those jobs that are out there. And there are so many opportunities in clean energy down here. We know that this isn't just about school leavers. It's increasingly about people in mid-career seeking to reskill or perhaps completely change careers. Free TAFE is really telling a big story about that. It's something that's been overwhelmingly taken up in the regions and often by older people. We know that we've got incentives around apprenticeships in clean energy, $10,000 available to the apprentice, $5,000 for the employer, to recognise that apprenticeship pathway needs to be incentivised, particularly across [indistinct]. And right here, it's about making sure that people can access skills close to where they live and close to where those job opportunities are going [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: In terms of manufacturing, do you think, or would you like to see more manufacturing of renewable infrastructure, whether it's EVs, whether it's solar panels, in Australia?

GILES: To give a broad answer, we are deeply committed to a future-oriented industry. I think Australians now see the importance of building our sovereign capacity as shocks right around the world, particularly right now in Iran, are impacting on our day-to-day. So we are deeply committed to investments that ensure that we can be a country that builds things and indeed a country that has that sovereign capacity, that national resilience. A big part of that is developing the skills base that we need. That's something that I'm really concerned about. It's something that our focus between our two governments and all governments nationally through the National Skills Agreement in building those manufacturing skills that are changing rapidly.

JOURNALIST: And a lot of people fear change, especially with the energy transition. And we've got projects like the Delburn Wind Farm, which is a great opportunity for Gippsland. Is this new facility a way to prepare these people and educate them, given these power station closures in a few years' time? Will this help prepare people, like mentioned before, upskill them for the future of energy?

GILES: Jack, that’s a really big part of this, and I might throw to Harriet to talk about the local dimension. She's much more qualified to tell that story than I am. But in Gippsland and right around the country we are absolutely committed to helping people through significant transitions in the economy. And a big part of that is making sure that workers can access those skills that are relevant to the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow. That's what today is really all about.

I think you've had an opportunity look through and see this does not look like how I think a lot of people imagine a TAFE classroom looks like. This is definitely 2026, not 1956. If you look at the EVs here, if you look at the digital technology that's being used as teaching aids and classroom aids, this is about making sure that people who may have existing skills can quickly update them or others can jump into the opportunities. In terms of those opportunities around here, Harriet can add further.

SHING: Right across Gippsland we've invested in renewable energy, but this is also something which builds upon our commitment not only to achieving our targets here in Victoria, which are nation leading, but also to making that we're creating jobs at the same time. The Delburn Wind Farm sits alongside a range of other work that we have continued to support.

The SEC for example is continuing to drive the generation of power, but also the creation of jobs, and it's a reflection of the history here in Gippsland that drove and powered the state for generations. We need to make sure that we're also taking care of the people who call Gippsland home, providing those job opportunities, those apprenticeships, those pathways through to well-paid, permanent, long-term jobs right here in the region. There's always more work to do, but in responding to a growing market in new energy and renewable technology by providing people with the opportunity to upskill right here in Gippsland, we're addressing that unmet demand, we're providing a pipeline of supply and we're also helping those national and international projects to be able to really secure a base here in Gippsland which as we know has some of the best real estate in the world for renewable energy generation.

JOURNALIST: All the job modelling is showing there will be huge employment gaps in the renewable energy industry. How is the government working to solve that to get more people on board and encouraged with the renewable energy transition?

GILES: That's a really big question. When we came into government in 2022, Australia faced the worst skill shortage in 50 years, and in fact, the second worst across every advanced economy. We've been working day and night to turn that around. A big part of it is the partnership we have with the Victorian Government, and indeed, every state and territory government through the National Skills Agreement, and delivering things like Free TAFE, enabling people to get those skills so we can bridge those gaps. When it comes to the electrical workforce, it's a particular pinch point. We are 42,500 electrical workers short. So turning that around has got a lot of elements.

This Centre of Excellence and similar ones around the country play a role in advertising the great opportunities that are out there to young people or people thinking about a career transition or upskilling. Free TAFE has been an absolute game changer in that regard. 72,000 enrollments around the country in Free TAFE, quite a few of them in skills related to this area. Our incentive for the New Energy Apprenticeship Program has attracted a real heap of people into electrical apprenticeships in new energy but also in roles connected to housing.

We know we can't rest there. There's always going to be more to be done, but I think one of the great stories that we can tell is to highlight young people behind us like Adam and Tom – off to WorldSkills – about the amazing career opportunities that are out there in electrical broadly but particularly in the extraordinary opportunities that are here when it comes to the energy transition. Thanks very much guys.

JOURNALIST: So, are you doing TAFE here?

ADAM STEVENS, APPRENTICE: I'm a fourth year apprentice here at TAFE Gippsland and I'm finishing up my time now. I've done my whole apprenticeship through TAFE Gippsland so I was able to start early because they had the free Cert II in electrical, so that gave me the edge with getting a job in the local area. Now that I'm finishing my time, especially with this new building opening up, I'm finding it easier to now upskill after my time, especially with it being in our backyard, it's less travel for me, less expensive for my company and allows us to add this infrastructure to our local area.

JOURNALIST: Just looking around this building, what are some of the things you're going to be able to get out of it?

STEVENS: Especially our solar. Solar's a big part, upcoming with the closure of some of our power stations. I think solar is going to be a big push in the next coming years. So we're looking to hopefully install more of the buildings around town, domestic houses and broaden my skills and upskill myself.

JOURNALIST: What made you want to be a sparky as well?

STEVENS: Nothing particularly. It was just I finished Year 12, wasn't really sure what to do and mum and dad just said, ‘oh there's this new Free TAFE, do you want to try that?’ I flicked through all the options I could do and electrical stuck out. And after starting here with the teachers with their broad, different industry experience really made me want to move forward with it, and Sharp Electric's taken a chance on me, and pushing me out of my comfort zone has really made me who I am today.

JOURNALIST: And how often do you install solar panels and that sort of thing?

STEVENS: We do different commissioning and maintenance on solar panels. So recently we've looked into a lot of fast food industries. So we've looked into upgrading them to new solar panels and everything. So hopefully in the next coming years, with [indistinct] going through this building, we can hopefully do [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: And you work for Marathon?

TOM HARMS, APPRENTICE: Yeah, Marathon Electrical based in Sale.

JOURNALIST: Have you sort of had a look around this facility yet?

HARMS: I came through the other day and had a look at everything. The wind turbine setup is pretty interesting because that's something that not many sparkies get to see, unless you get into, especially apprentices, unless you get into that field somehow. So really keen to work with all that, have some experience with that.

JOURNALIST: And do you think it will help your employment prospects elsewhere as well?

HARMS: Oh absolutely. These skills are the future of energy production, so something really crucial that we learn.

JOURNALIST: What's your advice to new apprentices that are going to be stepping into this job in a few years’ time with the renewable energy transition coming in?

HARMS: Look, it's a tough one because all the companies that will be hiring will be doing more of this kind of work anyway. So yeah, just make the most of your time here and get the most out of the opportunity you're given.