Qld govt offers $10M to skill workers for CSG-LNG industry
THE Australian Petroleum Production Exploration Association has welcomed the Queensland government’s $10 million flagship training program, saying it would help kick off new careers in the burgeoning coal seam gas-to-liquefied natural gas industry.
Premier Anna Bligh announced the initiative to train thousands of workers needed for the new CSG-LNG industries on Sunday.
The premier said the program would cater for up to 18,000 direct and indirect jobs, and was part of the government’s election commitment to create 100,000 new jobs in the current term of government.
The eight proposed CSG-LNG projects under consideration across the state will generate unprecedented demand for workers with specific technical skills.
“It’s essential that our training system is geared to meet industry demand – that’s why we’re developing this program hand in hand with industry,” Bligh said.
“The focus of the CSG-LNG Industry Training Program will be on up-skilling present mining industry workers and equipping newcomers with the required skills.
“For example, there are significant skill shortages for technicians in the areas of drilling, production, maintenance, electrical, instrumentation and logistics.”
APPEA Queensland director Matthew Paull said the new initiative would see the Queensland government working in partnership with the industry to equip potential employees with the high-technology skills required to work in the industry.
"The Queensland government and our industry are committed to engaging local communities and sharing the new employment opportunities presented by the exciting growth of our industry," Paull said.
"The CSG-LNG industry will provide a range of highly skilled employment opportunities and this initiative is a real and practical way to create new highly skilled career pathways and maximise the economic benefit of these exciting new projects for local communities.”
The government’s initial investment of $5 million would fund the program over two years with companies within the industry matching the government’s contribution dollar for dollar when they access training through the program.
Meanwhile, Energy Skills Queensland chief executive officer Glenn Porter said the unique nature of the CSG-LNG industry meant anyone interested in a career in the industry would need to start acquiring the right skills as soon as possible.
"The extraction of coal seam gas is a cleaner process than coal which produces a cleaner fuel, and it’s relatively new technology," Porter said.
"That means we need to start finding people who want to work as process operations technicians, drilling technicians, engineers and a host of other occupations in career opportunities that are about to start appearing across Queensland."
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
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