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Utilities make up the infrastructure used to deliver basic services to the public, such as water, gas, sewerage and electricity. Currently the Australian populations sits at 22million however this is expected to grow to somewhere between 30 and 42million over the next 40 years further increased the demand for energy and water. The Utility industry employees approximately 153’000 people, an increase of 46% over the last 5 years and is expected to grow by a further 21% by 2015 which is the 3rd largest percentage increase of all industries in Australia.

In a recent survey conducted by Deloitte and the Australian Water Association leaders of key utilities, water authorities, research centres and major corporations involved in this sector conclusively agreed that talent retention and attraction, specifically the problems associated with an ageing workforce, remain a key concern. There is a general appreciation that the demand for skills outweighs the supply with competition for skills workers from other high profile, profitable sectors such as mining is causing a drain from the water sector especially across engineers, researchers and technical officers.

AustCorp works with clients within the water sector to increase promotion of the sector, its scope and importance. Ultimately the Utilities need new skills and the workforce of the future must include experts in climate change adaptation, in regulation and in economic analysis. The report also concluded that Energy use in the water sector is likely to double, if not triple, over the next 20 years.

The Electricity industry is now on the eve of its largest change ever, a full transformation similar to the transformation of the telecommunications industry that started 20 years ago. The vast majority of the electricity supplied in Australia is done so in two fully fledged electricity markets and two smaller vertically integrated utilities. These are, in order of size:

• The National Electricity Market (NEM)
• The Western Australia Electricity Market (WAEM)
• Northern Territory
• Horizon Power franchise

Any review of literature addressing smart grid will demonstrate that Australia is not alone in owning aging energy assets. The move to smarter grids will be transitional – more evolution than revolution with the general consensus being fossil fuels will be phased out via a fossil / renewable hybrid model with LNG production increasing also.

Potential suppliers with skills and expertise in these industries are likely to see some great opportunity in the next 5 years. More specifically the skills, expertise and solutions will be required in the following areas:

• Infrastructure
• Communications and Control
• Applications
• Services

Australia’s suitability for renewable energy is extensive however currently 80% of Australia’s Energy still comes from coal. The Governments RET states that by 2020 20% of Australia’s energy will come from renewable sources – if you include the expected population growth and current energy demands that is the equivalent of 50% of Australia’s Energy Provision as of 2011 coming from renewable sources. Projects such as the SolarDawn project in QLD are a step in the right direction. This project has created 300 jobs and will be operational by 2015 resulting in over half a million tones of CO2 averted each year for an expected 35 year lifespan.

Future access to specialist engineering skills is considered to be a major challenge for the energy sector. This is particularly the case for electrical power engineering where there are few other industries that use the same skills and there is a requirement for in-depth understanding of local standards and legacy assets.

AustCorp partners with various organisations across design, construction, operation and asset management at the project and corporate levels. Our international talent resourcing centres uniquely positions us as a partner of choice as we are able to attract global talent improving Australia’s overall skill shortage as opposed to solely looking at local resources. Our technical expertise lies across:

• Water infrastructure
• Water resource management
• Wastewater
• Power generation inc. renewables
• Transmission and distribution

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