Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
More and more professionals are retraining to work in the renewable energy sector, writes Sigrid Parker. Inspired to start a new career? Get started with our table of renewable energy courses on page 80.
ow is a perfect time to get into the renewable energy industry. Consumer awareness has never been higher. The sector is growing, there are job opportunities and professionals with energy expertise are needed. Whether your career path is mapped out or you are just looking for extra skills, studying any renewable energy course is bound to open doors. On offer are certificates, diplomas, graduate and masters degrees, postgraduate and PhD research programs through institutions in most major cities and many regional towns. To fit study around working life there are short courses, online courses, evening, parttime and intensive weekend courses for total flexibility. One group of professionals who have jumped on the renewable energy bandwagon in recent times is electricians. Rod Menzies, Accreditation Manager for the Clean Energy Council (CEC), the peak body for clean energy, says the numbers speak for themselves. In 2007 when the CEC was established there were several hundred installers of solar and wind. Two years ago we were about a thousand installers. Now we are 4000, he says. No one ever projected that we would quadruple the number of installers in 24 months. Licensed electriciansor anyone with an electronics or electrical engineering degreehave a head start when it comes to working with solar or small wind systems. To become accredited installers or designers they need to complete accredited training modules.
www.renew.org.au
The modules are grouped into units and can be combined in different ways (see box). Menzies says this is easier than doing long courses and is designed to be more time efficient. Acquiring specialised skills is putting these electricians at the forefront of their industry. It is an investment that the following installers have never looked back from.
Design and Install modules with Global Sustainable Energy Solutions in NSW. Dunne studied online, finishing with a three-day practical program on campus. The particular course I did was the start of a huge snowball for me as far as my career and my life, Dunne says. (It) has opened up more doors than I could have imagined. On finishing his studies, he teamed up with some like-minded colleagues to found Frog Solutions (Full Range Of Green solutions) in Wollongong. Frog Solutions is very much aimed at everything environmental so it was a good idea at the time when I got my accreditation to have a business to purely focus on that rather than just general electrical work. Green is the hot word of the moReNew 117 77
ment, says Dunne. Everything that we do has an environmental basis behind it. We do the general trade work but where we can save the world, we do.
designing automation systems, as in lighting control, security systems, communication. Horins corporate clients wanted him to find alternative energy options, in particular solar. I had to admit rather sheepishly that I knew nothing about solar power, he says. So he decided to do something about it. He was 48 years old. He quit his job, studied full-time for two years and graduated with an Advanced Diploma of Renewable Energy Technology, a CEC accredited course, at the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE. Horin relocated to Brisbane as manager of a new energy department for an engineering firm. They were involved in providing consulting services, talking about all sorts of alternativity so that included things like fuel cell technology. He ran feasibility studies for various state governments and local councils on different energy projects. He currently has his own consultancy business as well as working in residential solar for the Mark Group.
Horins passion is smart energy technologies, particularly for business and government. I believe I am very well positioned, he says. We are starting to see a very real corporate movement towards that green area.
Options overview
Courses are plentiful whether you are studying to keep abreast of new technologies or whether you are planning a career in the renewable energy industry. Options include but are not limited to: ACS Distance Education: general interest courses such as environment studies. TAFE: certificate and diplomas in renewable energies. Universities: bachelor, masters or post-graduate degrees. Research PhDs, some in conjunction with industry, are also options. Possible career paths: unlimited. There are also many peripheral jobs where understanding and knowledge of renewable energy is beneficial.
Applications always open: enquire today The Institute of Environmental Studies, UNSW http://www.ies.unsw.edu.au
swinburne.edu.au/tafe/sustainability
www.renew.org.au
ReNew 117
79