The Victorian government will establish the state’s first publicly owned apprenticeship academy to fast-track 2,000 electrical trade apprenticeships, addressing a shortage of skilled energy workers.
The State Electricity Commission (SEC) Apprenticeship Academy will deploy a comprehensive earn while you learn model over the next four years. Every single participant will be employed directly by the SEC, transforming the state body into Victoria’s largest employer of electrical apprentices.
The strategy addresses systemic failures in the private training market, where individual apprentices face severe fragmentation, navigating from site to site without long-term job security. Consequently, completion rates have plummeted.
The new academy aims to reverse this trend. Starting its first full intake in January 2027, the academy will operate two training facilities, one in Melbourne and one in regional Victoria. Apprentices will be placed across a diverse array of major public renewable energy projects rather than being left to find their own host employers.
“2,000 young workers in the SEC Apprenticeship Academy – earning while they’re learning, building cheaper, homegrown power,” said Premier Jacinta Allen.
The state’s Energy Jobs Plan indicates that Victoria’s energy workforce must swell by 50 per cent to roughly 68,000 workers by 2040 to support the green transition, with more than a third of those roles based in regional areas.
“We can’t let the apprenticeship pipeline become a pipedream,” said Minister for SEC Lily D’Ambrosio.
The Powering Skills Organisation (PSO), a national energy workforce body, welcomed the initiative. According to the PSO’s 2025 Workforce Plan, Australia needs an extra 42,000 energy trades workers by 2030 to achieve its broader electrification goals. Meeting this target requires a 40 per cent national increase in apprentices.
While small and medium-sized businesses have traditionally undertaken the heavy lifting in apprentice training, PSO research shows that apprentice numbers between 2020 and 2024 grew twice as fast as the availability of small host employers. The PSO noted that public sector initiatives are vital for absorbing this excess training load.
PSO’s workforce research has consistently shown that apprenticeship pathways remain central to building the skilled workforce required to deliver Australia’s energy transition.
Expanding opportunities for apprentices to enter and complete training will be essential to ensuring Australia has the electricians and energy trades workers needed to deliver new infrastructure.