Australia Short of 70,000 Electrical Apprentices for Renewable Transition, Senate Warned

Australia urgently needs 70,000 more electrical apprentices if the government is going to meet the targets of its residential electrification strategy, the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) told the Senate Standing Committee on Economics on Feb. 21. Australia needs to electrify 500 homes every day and triple the pace of retrofitting non-residential buildings to meet its 2050 target of net zero operational carbon emissions, according to a Green Building Council of Australia report. “Tell me where I’m going to find 30,000 electricians in the next five years,” Kent Johns, NECA’s Head of Government Relations and Policy, asked senators. He explained that 35,000 electricians would need to be fully trained and in place by 2030 in order to meet the projected workload plus demand from the renewable energy sector....