KATANA Magnus grew up on an off-grid property with her dad using solar panels to provide power, so when she found out she'd get to build a solar panel at school this week, she was beyond excited.
"We had no connection to power, reception ... my dad ran all the solar for it. It was pretty cool," she said.
The Merriwa Central School student joined her year 9 and 10 peers for a three-day workshop from September 10 to 12 where pupils got to assemble a solar panel array before mock-connecting it to the grid with the help of AGL and Lightsource BP ambassadors.
"We got to hear from the different companies about what apprenticeships are available to us, safety courses, the licences we'd need if we entered the field, and then we got into the practical side of things," Katana said.
"We actually got to build a roof and put the solar panels on. I'm a hands-on learner so I enjoyed doing that."
The program was run as a Regional Industry Education Partnerships (RIEP) initiative, aimed at connecting students with local industry.
The students learned about career paths into electronics, electrotechnology, solar technician roles and work opportunities available within renewable energy zones.
RIEP officer Walter Mansfield said with renewable and clean energy a massive priority industry, it was important to develop the workforce needed for the transition.
"In the Upper Hunter specifically you have the transition of AGL from fossil fuel power to the Hunter energy hub for example. We need to make sure the local workforce is getting out from the school age of year 9, year 10 up because these projects are going to be around for the next two decades," he said.
" ... and we're not on track to meet that workforce demand yet with an unemployment rate sitting at 3.6 per cent."
"We need to encourage our youngest and brightest minds to take up the challenge of meeting our clean energy commitments by 2030 and net zero by 2050."
