The University of Newcastle will offer a Clean Energy Masters program from next year to help up-skill workers involved in the transformation of the Hunter's energy economy.
The program, which will offer micro-credentials, short courses, VET pathways and initiatives to integrate learning on the job, is part of the university's Trailblazer partnership with the University of NSW.
It follows on from the university's successful Bachelor of Renewable Energy that was launched in 2019.
The university has been consulting with industry partners, other training providers and academics regarding the program's content.
"We have thought quite broadly at who is in the Hunter and who is likely to move into the region," Dean of Engineering Dianne Wiley said.
"We have made sure that it is highly relevant to the new sectors that are developing such as hydrogen, wind farms, batteries and pumped hydro."
The program will cover both the technical and so-called 'soft skills' that are in high demand in the clean energy sector.
"The people doing the program will already be graduates of a university, but they are going to need to know things about policy and regulation, social and environmental implications and economics and finance," Professor Wiley said.
"So it's not not just the technical material, but also the soft skills that are in high demand by industry, particularly the clean energy sector."
Professor Wiley said she expected that the program would evolve over time to meet the needs of industry.
"We have a great program to meet today's needs, but will probably have to redesign it again in three to five years because things are moving very quickly," she said.
"But it also reflects the program's structure, which has been designed to move with industry."
Executive Director of the university's Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources, Alan Broadfoot, said knowledge represented a major competitive advantage within the rapidly evolving clean energy sector.
"The issue for us is how can we quickly get the knowledge to the key players? The skill shortage is the reverse of what people perceive - it's not starting at the undergraduate level, it is starting at the technology leadership level and building that strength to be able to build the platform to create the economic activity to bring in the other core skills," he said.
The University of Newcastle - UNSW Trailblazer partnership is focusing on recycling and clean energy.
"The skills shortage is a sector-wide problem. What we're trying to build is the critical skills that will give Australian manufacturing the advantage in the new energy economy," Professor Broadfoot said.
