⚡Powering Australia’s Future: Strengthening the Power Engineering Workforce with insights from Engineers Australia

By Dr David Pointing, CEO, Australian Power Institute

The new Engineering Tomorrow report by Engineers Australia provides a compelling, evidence-rich call to action: Australia’s future prosperity, sustainability, and resilience will be shaped by our engineering workforce — and especially by those working at the frontline of the energy transition.

“The changes that will impact our economy in the next decade and beyond will rely extensively on engineering expertise to lead us to a sustainable, innovative and productive future for Australia” (p. 5).

This latest report from EA brings a powerful and timely voice to a message that underpins much of API’s work. It offers a clear national picture and deep insight that reinforce the critical importance of electrical engineers and power systems professionals in enabling a secure, affordable, and decarbonised energy future.

At the Australian Power Institute (API), we’ve long championed the role of electrical and power engineers as nation-builders. From enabling a secure and affordable electricity grid to delivering on our clean energy targets, these professionals are critical.

EA’s report outlines several priority actions for strengthening Australia’s engineering capability, many of which align directly with API’s programs and the collaborative work we undertake with Engineers Australia:

🔋 Energy Transition: A Challenge Built for Engineers

According to the report, delivering on Australia’s clean energy goals requires an “exponential increase in renewable energy generation” — tripling grid-scale renewables by 2030 and a six-fold increase by 2050 (p. 25). In addition, firming capacity must nearly quadruple, and rooftop solar must grow to 72 GW.

“The decarbonisation of our emissions-intensive energy sector stands as one of the most significant and complex engineering challenges of our time” (p. 25).

The report makes clear that this shift won’t happen without the contributions of skilled engineers across planning, construction, integration, and regulation. It explicitly calls for “engineering insights to be integrated into government decision-making frameworks to support sound analysis on the future of Australia’s energy mix” (p. 25).

👷 Workforce Scale-Up: 100,000 More Engineers by 2030

The need is urgent. Engineers Australia and ACED estimate that we’ll require an additional 100,000 engineers by 2030 to meet government initiatives — a 50% workforce increase (p. 19).

Electrical engineers, power systems engineers, and grid specialists are central to meeting this demand, especially as “Australia will need nearly two million workers in engineering and building trades in the clean energy sector by 2050” (p. 19).

As Engineers Australia notes, systemic barriers such as wage disparities, skill mismatches, and a lack of visibility into clean energy careers need urgent attention.

The API’s work directly supports this challenge through targeted workforce development programs, including our Summer School, Powerful Women Leadership stream, and early-career retreats.

🎓 Supporting Graduates into Sector Roles

A target of 60,000 additional engineering graduates by 2035 reinforces the need for stronger education-to-employment pathways.

“Quality education, training and skills development is at the centre of improved productivity and increased innovation in industry and the public sector” (p. 24).

Through the API’s PowerUP Scholarship and undergraduate community, Powerful Women Leadership Program for undergraduates, Undergraduate stream for our Summer School, and other early career initiatives, we’re proud to be addressing this pipeline — supporting students and graduates as they move into meaningful power sector roles.

A standout example of our collaboration with Engineers Australia is the Graduate Learning Program for Power and Renewable Energy — a 20-month professional development experience designed for graduates entering the power sector.

Through a mix of virtual workshops, coaching, and project-based learning, this program strengthens technical foundations, builds emotional intelligence, and develops systems-thinking skills. It’s a program built on shared industry needs and a strong example of what’s possible when professional associations and employers work together to grow the pipeline.

More about this program is available via Engineers Education Australia here.

🛠 Transferable Skills, Strategic Roles

The report also highlights the high transferability of engineering skills from traditional thermal sectors into renewable energy — but warns that the transition will falter without better pathways.

“Engineers are well-positioned to transition into the renewable energy sector due to their adaptability and transferable skill sets… However, a lack of awareness, wage disparities, and poorly coordinated training pathways remain key barriers” (p. 26).

The API is responding through partnerships that connect industry, training providers, and graduates to accelerate this workforce transition. We are actively working to ensure engineers from conventional sectors are supported to adapt and apply their expertise in Australia’s growing clean energy economy.

🧠 Engineers at the Table: Technical Leadership in Government

The report raises an important warning: despite delivering 45% of public sector projects, engineers make up only 15% of the public workforce delivering them (p. 20). This decline in government engineering capability comes at a time when “decisions made for the community must be informed by robust technical analysis” (p. 5).

The call to embed Chief Engineers across government — as seen in ACT and NSW — is one that resonates strongly with our mission to ensure strategic, systems-level thinking underpins decisions about Australia’s electricity future. As the report notes:

“Engineering expertise is crucial in many central public sectors like defence, energy, transport, infrastructure, and climate... governments need to have access to adequate technical expertise” (p. 22).

🤝 The API and Engineers Australia: Partners in Action

At the API, we’re proud to work alongside Engineers Australia as we shape tomorrow’s electricity sector workforce. Their leadership in advocacy, research, and systems thinking complements our own focus on undergraduate development, diversity, and sector-wide collaboration.

We’re proud to work hand-in-hand with Engineers Australia to deliver on the report’s recommendations — from building education-to-employment pathways, to championing technical leadership, and empowering early-career professionals with real-world project experience.

Together, we are building a workforce that will power Australia’s electricity future — clean, reliable, and equitable.

📘 Read the full Engineering Tomorrow report here.🔗

Learn more about API's work at api.edu.au