Regional communities want to "grow their own workforce" and create visible employment pathways for young people as the renewable energy rollout ramps up across regional Australia.
That's one of the key findings of a Regional Australia Institute report released this week, Towards Net Zero: Empowering Regional Communities, which finds fear and frustration but also hope and goodwill in six regions where large-scale renewables projects are under way or in the pipeline.
Building local workforces to reduce reliance on FIFO (fly-in, fly-out) and drive-in workers and stimulate regional economies would be crucial to winning community support for more wind and solar farms and other energy industry development, Regional Australia Institute CEO Liz Ritchie said.
Speaking at the institute's annual summit of regional power-brokers and decision-makers in Canberra this week, Ms Ritchie said communities beyond Australia's major cities wanted information on how the predicted $122 billion investment boom would be managed to deliver local benefits.
"Regional Australia cannot and will not deliver what is required for the net zero transition if it does not have the people, support and resources needed to thrive," she said. "This is not a threat. This is a fact.
"Claims about additional local jobs or benefits-sharing from projects need to be backed up with actions because, based on previous experience, often people don't believe it.
"Is there a plan to ensure more people coming into the region doesn't make service provision worse? How will a new investment impact their business if it bids up wages and attracts workers from other regional businesses?
"They also want to know how they can participate in these projects within supply chains and through employment and skills development to create lasting regional development."
ViewJobs founder and managing director Lewis Romano said regional job opportunities in the transition to Australia's lower-emissions future were already emerging in sectors such as construction and health.
"As Australia's first dedicated marketplace for regional employment, ViewJobs is collaborating with more than 600 organisations, including major companies across diverse industries such as agriculture, real estate, retail, early learning and education and aged care," Mr Romano said.
"We've had 30,000 job ads posted since our launch in March and we have more than 5000 job listings live right now, so there is a huge demand for skills in regional Australia and it is definitely growing."
Powered by the ACM network, owner of this masthead, ViewJobs is a digital job-seeking platform that connects job-seekers to career and lifestyle opportunities in the regions.
The employment marketplace is being showcased to attendees at this week's summit in Canberra, alongside the likes of Airbnb, Telstra, Elders, the NBN and electricity transmission network operator Transgrid.
Mr Romano said ViewJobs was eager to contribute innovative solutions to the employment and training challenges and opportunities identified by the Regional Australia Institute.
"Like the Regional Australia Institute, we're on a mission to promote the employment and lifestyle opportunities that exist in the regions and we're doing that by connecting skilled people looking for a new career or lifestyle with regional employers searching for top talent," he said.
