New study finds Gippsland workers are ready for offshore wind

29 June 2023

Around 70 percent of Gippsland’s coal power and mining and oil and gas workers are ready for a career in offshore wind, with Australia’s most advanced offshore wind project Star of the South releasing an offshore wind worker guide today.

Star of the South Chief Development Officer Erin Coldham released Making the move to offshore wind – a guide for workers at the State Electricity Commission (SEC) Energy Jobs and Skills Forum in Melbourne, highlighting the significant opportunities offshore wind will bring to the region.

The guide identifies current roles across the coal, oil, gas and maritime industries and their alignment with typical jobs in offshore wind. It also includes entry-level career pathways for young people and those with limited experience looking to start a career in the industry.

Ms Coldham said there is a high level of expertise already in the Gippsland region, with a significant number of roles having a ‘high’ or ‘good’ skills alignment.

“With the retirement of coal generators in the Latrobe Valley and oil and gas production decreasing in Bass Strait, we know workers, their families and local communities are thinking about the future and what comes next.

“As a significant part of this new industry we created this guide to help get the workforce skilled up and excited for their next career path in energy generation.

“There’s so much knowledge in the region – and we’ll need the experience of long-term workers to train, skill-up and mentor the next generation.”

Star of the South is expected to create up to 2,000 Victorian jobs over its life, including 760 Gippsland jobs during construction and 200 long-term local jobs during operations.

Making the move to offshore wind – a guide for workers is available on starofthesouth.com.au.

Making the move to offshore wind – a guide for workers was co-funded by the Victorian Government, through the Energy Innovation Fund, and Star of the South.

About Star of the South

Star of the South is Australia’s most advanced offshore wind project, proposed to be located off the Wellington coast of Gippsland in Victoria. Star of the South would help meet energy, emissions reduction, and economic goals by supplying secure, reliable and affordable power for up to 1.2 million homes. The project is in the feasibility phase with environmental assessments currently underway to inform project planning and approvals. If Star of the South is approved and proceeds to construction, works could start around the middle of this decade with first power before the end of the decade to align with planned closure of Latrobe Valley coal power plants.

 The project is majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ flagship fund - CI IV, together with Cbus Super and Australian founders. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a leader in offshore wind globally. CIP has ambition and a roadmap for accelerating its role in delivering on the energy transition by deploying EUR 100bn into green energy investments by 2030.