GPG Australia, the local arm of international power generation company Naturgy Group, will fund scholarships worth $575,000 over the next five years, with plans to extend the agreement in stages for a total of 15 years.

The scholarships, to begin next year, will help students train using contemporary equipment such as laser alignment tools, diagnostic tools and working at height safety equipment.

GPG Australia head of development APAC Shaq Mohajerani said the scholarships were about training skilled workers in an industry suffering severe skill shortages, and building partnerships with the local communities and regions where the company operates.

"Australia needs to invest in the training of future professionals that the renewable energy sector will require to appropriately face the Clean Energy Transition," he said.

"GPG Australia is fully committed to continue supporting the education in the region through this long-term scholarship program, that will provide funding for supporting a variety of renewable energy projects and courses at different educational levels, as well as for training equipment renewal."

The funding will not only go toward scholarships for university and TAFE students, but new training equipment, renewable energy projects for students attending Federation Tech School and secondary school projects within the Ballarat Tech School.

To be eligible, students from Federation will need to be enrolled in Higher Education or TAFE courses that have a direct relationship to workforce demands. When possible, priority will be given to female, indigenous and/or low economic profile students in order to facilitate their incorporation to the renewable energy sector.

"It's a massive financial commitment from GPG which goes a long way to widening accessibility to education and for a large proportion of disadvantaged students. The GPG scholarships will provide an opportunity for students from lower socioeconomic groups, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and encourage females in to the sector to have the opportunity to study," said Federation TAFE chief executive Liam Sloan.

"Everyone benefits from these scholarship programs, students, industry and the broader community, as our students are able to contribute through their careers."

Thirteen students each year will benefit from the individual scholarships.

Mr Sloan said Federation's Asia Pacific Renewable Training Centre, and its campuses across Victoria, hoped to become a one-stop shop for training workers for the future of renewable energy.

"The biggest challenge is the fact there's a huge skill shortage ... and this industry is really struggling for staff who have got the right skills and are able to hit the ground running. Companies are poaching staff left, right and centre and we can help provide a line of talent so if someone is to move to another employer within the same industry, there's someone else sitting waiting to start that job," Mr Sloan said.

IN OTHER NEWS

GPG Australia has developed and now runs the first phase of the Berrybank Wind Farm, between Lismore and Cressy, which has 43 turbines and is about to begin work on stage two of the farm with a further 26 turbines.

"The big push to renewable energy ... has created an expertise shortage within Australia. We notice because we in a growth phase it's very difficult to even get candidates. If we start training people that are interested to join this sector ... it's not going to happen overnight but it will happen in the next few years," Mr Mohajerani said.

The GPG Australia partnership announcement was part of the launch of Federation University's Foundation Annual (scholarship) Appeal.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.