Naturally on an issue like this, there are no ‘silver bullets’ to be found that can fix the problem easily. The recommendations of the Taskforce are wide-ranging, and often put the responsibility back onto the resource sector to attract young people and develop a workforce. This is an appropriate response as industry must take responsibility for and a lead role in workforce development. If a sector doesn’t have a great enough focus on young workers and lower skilled positions, it can’t expect to easily recruit experienced, higher skilled workers in the future.

One issue the Taskforce did identify was the lack of good data on future workforce needs. The gas supply industry doesn’t really have a clear understanding of its current workforce, let alone its future workforce. This is probably true in many areas of the resource sector, with guestimates of workforce size being the norm rather than the exception.

APIA has been holding discussions with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) and the utilities industry skill council, EE-Oz, on how the industry might better understand its current workforce and skills issues. The ABS derives most of its data from the Australian Census, and can only create employment codes based on the answers of individuals. Perhaps for the next census, due next year, an attempt to have all workers in the pipeline industry mention ‘gas transmission’ in their job title will need to be made. Outside of census work, the ABS is not readily able to assist.

Fortunately, DEEWR has agreed to undertake a survey of the gas supply industry as part of its ongoing program of employer surveys. The survey is expected to be conducted in April 2011.

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The objective of the survey is to provide information at the national level on the workforce capacity of the industry, by collecting data on recent recruitment experiences, recruitment difficulty and the skills most in demand. The survey will also collect information on issues that may increase demand for labour/skills, such as workforce ageing and staff retention.

This is a great first step for the gas supply industry, and it will provide us with official data that will be readily implemented into skills lists and funding streams. It also represents a significant resource investment by DEEWR and saving for the industry, as a professionally conducted workforce survey would easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The results of the survey will advise future workforce development strategies, but there are some issues that the industry should start thinking about now. For example, the career path and qualifications the pipeline industry is able to offer young entrants needs to be considered.

Right now, the standard entry level qualification (if any is offered) is a Certificate II for the gas supply industry. This compares with most other sectors having a Certificate III or a formal apprenticeship. The kind of people the industry wants to attract – school leavers with technical aptitude – have a range of options for trades and industries, and the gas industry falls short in what it offers. Even if effort is put into raising the profile of the gas industry as a career option, comparable qualifications need to be offered. It’s not just the school leavers themselves that need to be convinced, their parents need to be excited too. And parents are more focused on qualifications than pay or other benefits.

The pipeline industry has done some great work, through Chris Harvey, over the last couple of years on engineering competencies and training, and it might be time to consider some similar work for our trade-qualified workforce.

In the lead-up to the DEEWR survey being conducted in April 2011, APIA will be raising awareness and preparing the industry to participate fully. DEEWR is devoting the resources, but it is the pipeline industry’s information that must be provided and it is critical that every company that is part of the pipeline workforce participates where it can.