This report continues CEDA’s work on how to strengthen Australia’s labour market at a time of chronic skill shortages and disruption across several key industries. This report looks at opportunities in the energy sector in the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The report also focuses on how best to support workers and communities in traditional fossil-fuel industries. It outlines how Australia can get the best employment outcomes for displaced workers, as well as how to meet the current and future skills and training needs of the clean-energy sector.

Key recommendations:

• Governments should support workers and communities rather than businesses, and avoid policies that reduce incentives to move jobs and retrain, such as job guarantees.
• State and Federal governments must take immediate action to update, streamline and nationally harmonise relevant occupational licences to reduce barriers to labour mobility where this will not jeopardise safety.
• The Federal Government should proceed with risk-based reform of temporary skilled migration to enable fast, simple pathways for highly skilled clean energy workers.
• Governments must do more to communicate the transition challenge through forward-looking policies to cut emissions, detailed jobs-market modelling and clearly outlining what the transition will look like in the most affected communities.