WHAT IS THE SPECIALIST ENERGY TRAINING NETWORK?
The Specialist Energy Training Network (SETN) is a consortium of seven TAFE institutes, established in January 2007 by the Victorian State Government.
The Network is funded through two sources: the Maintaining the Advantage: Skilled Victorians initiative, and the Moving Forward Provincial Statement.
The primary aims of the Network are to address current and projected skill needs in the energy industry, and to ensure that the training for this sector is provided as efficiently and effectively as possible.
The Network aims to provide the energy sector with a ‘one-stop-shop’ that meets the training needs of the energy industry. This ‘Centre of Excellence’ is identifying industry requirements and developing learning models, to meet current and future skill needs across the entire enterprise and supply chain.
The Network is managed through the Energy Training Centre, which is based at the Chadstone Campus of GippsTAFE, the lead agent in the Network consortium. This location was selected due to its unique facilities and long-term focus on the energy industry.
The Network has established a presence in the Latrobe Valley, to service the electricity generation sector. The Network will continue to grow, and engage with additional stakeholders in regional areas of the state.
WHY WAS THE SPECIALIST ENERGY TRAINING NETWORK FORMED?
The Department of Education and Training commissioned reports that focused on the skill needs of the power generation industry and the broader energy sector in Victoria.
These reports, and other national studies, have identified significant skill shortages at the trade, paraprofessional, and professional levels (power and electrical engineers) in the energy industry.
The findings note that organizational changes, particularly within power generation companies, have greatly altered the scope of work undertaken by the different occupational groups. This has resulted in a greater emphasis on multi-skilling key workers in the trade and paraprofessional areas.
The reports also point to the urgent need for enhanced in-plant training capability, to allow for the systematic transfer of high-level, enterprise-specific skills, from experienced older workers to less experienced younger ones.
This problem has been highlighted as an urgent issue, due to the expectation that many of these older workers are expected to retire in the next few years.
New initiatives such as the Specialist Energy Training Network have been established to provide relevant training solutions that address the skills shortage problems within the energy sector, through a collaborative approach between industry leaders and experienced training advisors.
