More Queensland students will be propelled towards cutting-edge hydrogen energy-related careers following the extension of a partnership between the Australian Gas Industry Trust (AGIT) and the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).
The QMEA is the education arm of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and works with more than 80 schools to encourage young people to consider VET and STEM career pathways into a career in resources.
Last year, AGIT funded the QMEA to develop hydrogen teaching resources aligned with the Australian Curriculum, which are now freely available through the acclaimed Oresome Resources educational website.
AGIT Executive Officer Dr Jen Thompson said the Trust sees hydrogen as an important part of the story in a low emissions future, and more education around its potential as a future fuel source is vital.
“This new industry will create more than 7,000 new highly-skilled high-tech jobs, many of them in regional Queensland by 2040 according to Queensland Government figures.
“It’s a great way to build our regional communities while lowering global emissions.”
QRC Skills and Education Director Katrina-Lee Jones said AGIT’s continuing support means hydrogen education can now be taken on the road to reach students in regional areas.
“The QMEA team will now be able to run hands-on workshops in Townsville, Toowoomba and Gladstone, where’s there’s immediately been a lot of interest from our QMEA partner schools,” she said.
“The workshops to be delivered in the next few months provide an opportunity to communicate with schools about the skills needed in Queensland’s emerging hydrogen industry, and the opportunities developing in this area.
“Students will learn how to build and race hydrogen-fuelled model cars, and teachers will be shown how to deliver safe, fun student classroom sessions around this exciting topic.”
Ms Jones said the QMEA’s new hydrogen education materials for teachers have already attracted interest from the National Hydrogen Council and South Australia’s Department of Mining and Energy.
“The QRC also looks forward to working with the Queensland Government and the Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen, Mick de Brenni, to explore other avenues of support for this program, which we think has the potential to go statewide,” she said.
“Hydrogen is going to play an important role in our state’s transition to a low-carbon economy, so the need for growth in this sector will also be addressed in the state government’s Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan.”
According to the Queensland Government’s Queensland Hydrogen Industry Strategy, the sector will be worth about $1.7 billion a year in state exports by 2030.
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