Thousands of apprentices and upskilling tradies are expected to learn about the burgeoning hydrogen industry before the end of the decade at a just-unveiled training centre.
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The Hydrogen Centre of Excellence in Sydney's northwest will support the shift to renewable energy, helping plumbers and gasfitters learn skills to install and maintain hydrogen gas networks.
Designs for the $25 million facility at Glenwood were unveiled by the NSW government on Tuesday.
The centre was a pre-election commitment from Labor.
"This is an opportunity to train and educate the next generations of plumbers in this exciting, changing industry," Premier Chris Minns told reporters.
Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said hydrogen had an important future in NSW.
"We're investing in hydrogen hubs across the state, we have incentives to get the price down so that we can really work with our manufacturing industries and build an industry in NSW," she said.
Other fuels such as biomethane and biomethanol were also being investigated, she said, as the state moved to a system of blended gases.
"That's going to be an important jump in terms of building a new industry and building a new source, so that is part of the work," Ms Sharpe said.
Skills Minister Steve Whan said the centre would provide training to about 8000 apprentices before 2030 as the energy transition continued at pace.
"We need a lot of these jobs yesterday, so that's why we've got to start quickly and get on with them," he said.
A Housing Industry Association report, released on Tuesday, noted skilled labour shortages were higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic and called for training for local workers to be prioritised.
Mr Minns said a federal push to curtail immigration meant governments needed to educate locals, particularly to work in emerging industries.
Australian Associated Press
