Industry insights on skills needs
As identified in the Gas IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast, the top priority skills required for the Gas sector are digital literacy, health and safety, compliance, operational skills in machine, plant systems, and commercial skills.
According to the job vacancy data, the top generic skills in demand are communication, computer literacy and planning skills. The top occupations in demand are Other Building and Engineering Technicians and Architectural, Building and Surveying Technicians. The top employers for workers in this industry were APA Group and Kleenheat.
The top generic skills listed in the Gas IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast in order of importance to the industry are:
- Technology
- Design mindset / Thinking critically / System thinking / Solving problems
- Learning agility / Information literacy / Intellectual autonomy and self-management
- Language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) (Foundation skills)
- Communication / Virtual collaboration / Social intelligence.
The Gas Supply Industry is undergoing a period of technological change. Industry reports (see Relevant research section below) and the Gas IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast have identified this shift in technology, along with an increased focus on decarbonisation, as key challenges in skill development for the workforce.
The challenges and opportunities identified in the Gas IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast include:
- New technologies and digital literacy: Digital technologies including robotics, wireless sensor technology, remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), artificial intelligence and machine learning will require the workforce to upskill especially in data analytics, robotics, and remote operations to enhance their technological capacities. RPAS technology is increasingly used for pipeline patrolling, enabling survey capability in remote or inaccessible locations and reducing safety risks and survey durations. Recent advancements in gas processing and gas control systems has led to a change in required skill needs of gas technicians and gas controllers. New technology is also making the sector more accessible to women.
- Cybersecurity: The unique nature of the Gas industry and technologies such as big data, automation, digital sensors, and remote operations can expose the industry to growing cyber security risks. It is imperative to have a tailored cyber security training program not only to inform the workforce of the nature and examples of the Gas industry cyberattacks, but also give them the skills and competencies to be able to resolve them.
- Demand for gas energy supplies: Increasing domestic and commercial demand will impose greater stress on gas infrastructure, potentially increasing the frequency of emergency incidents. While the Training Package addresses skill needs for routine repairs and many gas suppliers undertake enterprise-specific training, the skills required for conducting repairs under emergency conditions should also be included in the Training Package.
- Green energy and sustainability: Decarbonisation to meet emissions targets is driving change within the sector. New innovations include biogas, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen. Hydrogen offers enormous opportunities with Australia an ideal place for its production at an industrial scale.
- Soft skills: Nontechnical skills including teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking and emotional intelligence, and lifelong learning have been identified as integral to a resilient workforce ready to adapt to change.
The Gas industry is being rapidly transformed by new technologies and automation. The Gas IRC’s 2020 Skills Forecast (Annual Update) details two industry workforce, skills developments or trends that are a priority for the next year:
- Data-enabled digital technologies – it is a priority to build the skills of gas fitters and workers in the Gas Supply sector in processing information and data based applications with more organisations moving towards predictive asset management and digitalisation.
- Hydrogen and safety issues – the workforce needs upskilling and retraining in hydrogen storage and safe handling to ensure the Australian Gas industry is able to maximise the emerging growth opportunities.
The Gas IRC’s 2021 Industry Outlook continues the discussion on the trends discussed in the previous years, particularly in respect to hydrogen and other green technologies, automation and digitalisation, and cyber security. New and updated units of competency and skill sets have been or are being developed to enable workers in the gas industry to upskill or be trained in response to:
- The operating platform for data recording is being standardised across utilities, and there is a need for data loggers to be qualified to install, disconnect, and reconnect these systems.
- Hydrogen has the potential to be used as a biofuel in cars or in fuel cells as an alternative to batteries. The injection of hydrogen gas has been trialled at 10% volume replacement with natural gas without the need for changes to existing infrastructure.
The State of the Energy Market 2021 reports the gas market is undergoing a fundamental shift; identifying and encouraging the development of new sources of gas has become a primary focus as traditional sources decline. The First Low Emissions Technology Statement: 2020 for the Commonwealth Government Technology Investment Roadmap includes clean hydrogen and low carbon steel and aluminium in the five priority low emissions technologies identified. Low Emissions Technology Statement 2021, the second statement for the roadmap, indicates the government is investing in seven clean hydrogen industrial hubs to concentrate demand for hydrogen in one geographic region to reduce costs and enhance skills and training efforts, developing a voluntary zero emissions gas market to increase early demand for clean hydrogen and other zero emissions gases. The 2020 update to Gas Vision 2050 analyses different scenarios to achieve net-zero emissions and projected costs. The update highlights consumer demand for a clean energy future, and projects emissions reduction can be achieved through the use of biogas, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
The UEG Gas Supply Industry Skills: Case for Change states there is an existing and growing need for hydrogen specific competency within the gas industry, with workers requiring skills in hydrogen storage optimisation, repair and maintenance of hydrogen storage equipment, requirements for blending hydrogen with gas through gas distribution network, and use of control systems to monitor hydrogen in gas distribution networks. Specific examples provided include industry intelligence from Jemena, the company operating the Western Sydney Green Gas Project, that reported workers with generic skills were used but they needed further training in safety and competence, and that hydrogen behaved in a manner very different to other gases and that a basic awareness is the bare minimum requirement across the entire industry, moving to an expert knowledge depending on the job role. The Western Sydney Green Gas Project is co-funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), and is converting renewable electricity to hydrogen gas which can be blended and stored in Jemena’s gas distribution network to supply New South Wales homes and businesses. Under a new agreement with Coregas, Jemena will produce and supply green hydrogen from its Western Sydney plant for use by transport and industrial customers from early 2022.
It is reported in Australia’s Bioenergy Roadmap, that biomethane grid injection is one of the few options along with hydrogen to reduce emissions from Australia’s gas consumption. Biomethane has the benefit in the short term over hydrogen that there are already mature technologies available. Australia’s bioenergy sector could contribute around $10 billion in extra GDP per annum and 26,200 new jobs by the next decade. Bioenergy investment has the potential to support long-term regional employment, provide additional revenue streams for farmers as many of the bioenergy feedstocks come from agricultural activities, such as from sugarcane waste and the livestock industries, and ultimately national economic growth. Along with hydrogen, biogas upgraded to biomethane is an option discussed in Victoria’s Gas Substitution Roadmap consultation paper. Victoria has a high proportion of gas usage, and biomethane is chemically the same as methane, the principal component of natural gas, and so can replace gas wherever it is used today, whereas higher than 10% blending of hydrogen and natural gas requires some changes to pipelines, and widespread changes to appliances and meters.
The UEG Gas Supply Industry Skills: Case for Change also states that job roles are changing due to the introduction of new technologies and work practices, allowing cross skilling between roles and increasing workforce mobility. The traditional pipeline technician or operation roles are now blending with gas processing or storage roles, which will need to be reflected in the qualifications. Traditional operation and supervisory roles will also require added skills The Skills Priority List includes Gasfitter and Plumber (General) under occupations in national shortage, with moderate future demand.
