Australia 4.0 - Energy & Digital Skills - In Person

Energy & Digital Skills

Australia 4.0 national roundtable

A series of national conversations facilitated by the Pearcey Foundation to explore the implications for Australia of the transition to Net Zero. Australia 4.0 includes the voices of regulators, innovators, the energy sector, the ICT sector, government and academia. Focussed on the intersection of enabling consumer agency, the role of ICT in the transition to Net Zero, and the need for Australian innovation.

In 2023 Australia 4.0 identified a set of commonly agreed challenges and proposed ways to address them from a digital and data perspective. That work was summarised in a Communiqué released in May 2024.

In 2024, Australia 4.0 continues with targeted roundtable discussions on topics aimed at driving next gen ICT solutions to support the transition. During each of these workshops, we will focus through the following lenses:

Consumer - ICT - Innovation - Australian

and asking the questions:

1. Skills needed for the grid transition?
2. Upgrading engineering training in emerging technologies (including AI)?
3. Impact of emerging technologies on training delivery?

In 2023, Australia 4.0 identified that one of the major challenges facing the nation in transitioning to renewable electricity is the forecasted workforce and skill shortages, especially in higher order engineering and computing skills, and the availability of these workers in remote or rural communities. Already a significant issue, this skills challenge will soon become an escalating and limiting problem as the energy transition moves forward and thousands of new generation and transmission projects move from design, to build, to operation.

This session will highlight approaches to improving the workforce skills necessary for the future renewable grid.  It will include a presentation by Engineers Australia on some major new initiatives, such as: “Impact of AI on Engineering Firms and Engineers”, followed by a discussion on key findings in the recent report on “High-level insights about the engineering profession for the period 2016–2021”.

2024 Australia 4.0 events are hybrid events comprising in person speakers, roundtable participants and audience accompanied by live streaming to a national audience.

Format of 2024 Australia 4.0 workshops:

• Roundtable of ~20 attendees, selected from business, academia and government, with an emphasis on energy and ICT business representation.
• Other attendees invited as an audience of ~20 in-person and nationally online.
• Keynote presentation by session host.
• Q&A from Roundtable participants specific to keynote address.
• Open discussion with Roundtable of challenges and opportunities.
• Q&A from audience, both in-person and online.
• Includes a light lunch

Australia needs a consistent and proactive approach to get to Net Zero.The current debate is fractured, especially in considering the use of digital technology in our infrastructure. Working with partners such as EA, Australia 4.0 seeks to create a constructive space for this important dialogue.