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Queensland: skilling up for the gas industry

Large-scale gas projects require significant numbers of skilled workers. Ensuring projects are not delayed due to skill shortages requires investment in skills and training programs by both industry and government.

Falling supply and increasing demand

Energy Skills Queensland Chief Executive Officer Glenn Porter says a simultaneous decrease in the number of tradespeople in industry and increasing demand for trades will lead to a shortage of the right skills for the state’s gas industry.

“A downturn in the number of apprentices that have been taken on in previous years due to the Global Financial Crisis is going to have a major impact on the number of tradespeople available.

“Of course, also there is going to be an increase in demand for these trades,”? says Mr Porter.

Queensland’s burgeoning coal seam gas (CSG)/LNG industry will require up to 18,000 skilled workers in the construction and operation phases, according to Skills Queensland Chief Executive Officer Rod Camm.

The recently approved GLNG Project alone will call for around 5,000 workers in the construction of the pipeline, processing facility and export terminal.

GLNG Operations Chief Executive Mark Macfarlane says “Energy Skills Queensland has produced a labour demand analysis, identifying trade and skill areas required in the construction stage. Among those, the potentially high skills needs throughout the entire construction period are instrument and electrical trades, insulator, pipefitter, welder, rigger, sheet metal worker and steel fixer. Other projects will require similar skills sets,”? says Mr Macfarlane.

Mr Camm suggests that construction trades across the board will be in demand: “Skills such as boiler makers, welders, electricians, instrumentation technicians and construction workers are likely to be the major shortages as we see it.

“There could be other shortages in areas such as mobile crane drivers, riggers and dogmen, scaffolders and steel fixers.

“There’s likely to be some shortages with engineers of all disciplines as well.”?

Participation from other industries

Mr Porter indicates that recruiters for the gas industry might look to other sectors to meet demand.

“They’ll be targeting other related industry sectors that have transferrable skills. The construction, engineering, manufacturing industries, and the energy utilities industries, including water, will be the areas that are targeted – people with similar types of skills that, with a little bit of tweaking and upskilling, would create quite good candidates to move to the gas industry,”? says Mr Porter.

Some members of the community are concerned that the major projects will lead to shortages of workers across other trades in the area. Gladstone Regional Council Mayor Gail Sellers says “The main area for skill shortages will be across the trades. Throughout the history of industrial development in the Gladstone region we have found that the large construction projects tend to drain the tradesmen from the local area as they are attracted to the increased wages of industry.”?

However, both industry and the State Government are committed to developing a new skilled workforce for the gas industry to limit any impact on local trades.

Speaking of the GLNG Project, Mr Macfarlane says “Our lead contractors have plans in place to foster their own workforces, in order to avoid placing undue pressure on other industries. However, workers with construction skills may become available as a result of downturns in other areas or the changing workforce needs of other industries. In those cases, we will work with those people and with training organisations to help them make the transition to the GLNG workforce.”?

Mr Camm spoke of the Queensland Government’s workforce plan saying “Workforce planning is focused on all of the key industries in CSG/LNG regions, not solely the CSG/LNG industry. The rapid growth of the CSG/LNG industry will put pressure on existing industries so we are working with those existing industries to develop effective strategies to lessen that impact and enable the retention of their workforces.”?

Government commits to the industry

Mr Camm says “The government is committed to delivering skills strategies that will meet the workforce demands of the CSG/LNG industry through both the construction and operational phases.

“These strategies will provide opportunities to establish world class CSG/LNG training practices in Queensland, support the development of apprentices and trainees and promote the employment of women, mature age workers and Indigenous workers.”?

Other investments that the government is making in the workforce development of CSG/LNG industry are:

  • The CSG/LNG industry hotline and website, which provide advice on training opportunities
  • $375,000 in funding allocated to deliver CSG/LNG training at the Central Queensland Institute of TAFE in Gladstone
  • $240,000 in funding allocated for a Skills Formation Strategy for the CSG/LNG industry
  • The establishment of the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy, which now includes seven Gateway Schools in the Surat Basin that teach skills specific to the CSG/LNG industry.

“There is no doubt that there are going to be challenges in building up a skilled workforce of 18,000 to construct and operate Queensland’s CSG/LNG industry, but the challenges aren’t insurmountable,”? says Mr Camm.

Industry invests for the long term

Industry also has a significant role to play in ensuring it can staff its projects.

GLNG’s Mark Macfarlane says the company has implemented a number of policies and initiatives to attract workers to the industry.

“Through the Energy Skills Queensland CSG/LNG Skills Taskforce, GLNG is working closely with the other LNG proponents to identify and train workers whose skills may be applicable to the gas industry. Santos has also developed training and skills development programs, including programs to cross-skill existing workforce, in conjunction with Queensland TAFE and other training agencies.

“While our primary commitment is to provide opportunities for locals, we will also look further afield within Australia and overseas in order to source the skilled workforce needed to deliver the project for Queensland and Australia,”? Mr Macfarlane says.

Government and industry are also working together to address the expected skills demand. The Queensland Government has established the CSG/LNG Industry Training Fund, which is a $10 million two-year fund, jointly funded by the government and the industry.

Approximately $6.5 million has already been allocated to train more than 2,500 existing workers and new entrants into the industry.

“Through comprehensive workforce planning, the industry, training system and government can work together to ensure we maximise having the right skills available at the right time through training, upskilling, re-skilling and skilled migration,”? says Mr Camm.

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