Queensland Solar Farm jobs

With energy prices through the roof in 2022, renewables are once again in the spotlight. Out of the three main renewable energy sources — that is hydro, wind and solar — one of them is particularly well suited for Queensland, which is also known as the Sunshine State.

While commitments in the solar industry date back as far as 2010 in Australia, investments in the solar sector have truely boomed in recent years. In 2022, we produce about 50 times more solar power than back in 2010. In the last 2 years alone, we have more than doubled the production capacity again.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_Australia

Solar and renewables in general have many upsides in addition to the environmental impact. With investments come opportunities, from specialised manufacturing jobs to installing and maintaining the solar panels on the farms.

Labouring on Queensland Solar Farms

Solar farms benefit from large, unobstructed areas with long hours of uninterrupted sunlight — or simply the outback to be concise. Jobs in such locations are known as FIFO, which stands for fly-in fly-out. In simple terms, workers are flown to the farms, where they spend anywhere from 1 week to 1 month, and then fly back for a break.

From a financial point of view, such jobs have a few big advantages. For starters, they often offer free or cheap accomodation and meals while onsite. They also offer significantly bigger pay-checks: It is not uncommon to earn anywhere from $30 to $40 per hour for entry level labouring, cleaning or general construction work. The work is though — you'll work long hours in a rough environment, where humidity and heat are a big challenge. The rewards are there for those willing to keep at it however.

What qualifications you need to work on Solar Farms

As with most jobs, you will need some qualifications to work on solar farms. The good news is that these are all induction level courses that have no pre-requisites, so anyone can obtain these qualifications. These courses normally cost about $100 - $120 each.

White Card

Solar Farms are very much active construction sites, with trucks, cranes and power tools in use to erect large racks, install or replace solar panels etc. As such, you will need to hold a QLD White Card by undertaking General Construction Induction Training (GCIT), also known as the White Card course. In simple terms, White Cards are licenses required to enter and work on construction sites (such as solar farms) in Queensland and the rest of Australia. General Construction Induction Training is a half day course that takes about 4h from start to finish. You can book your QLD White Card course here.

Low Voltage Rescue & Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Given the nature of the work, you will also benefit from holding a Low Voltage Rescue and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (LVR & CPR) certificate. This course will teach you how to spot and rescue someone working on live panels. This is another half day course taking about 4h from start to finish. You can find out more about the LVR & CPR course here.

First Aid

Another well regarded certificate to hold is First Aid. Remote high-risk workplaces (such as solar farms) are required to have 1 trained first-aider for every 10 employees onsite. By holding this certificate, you are helping your prospective employer in meeting this requirement, potentially making your résumé stand out. This is yet another half-day course (4h). You can book your First Aid course here.

How to find and apply for Queensland Solar Farm jobs

There are 4 main ways to find jobs on Queensland Solar Farms — let's have a detailed look at each of those options and explore the pros and cons.

Applying directly through the project's website

All major Solar Farm projects have a dedicated website where they publish the goals, values, studies, funding and other aspects of the project. There you'll also find a "work with us" or similarly named page. Typically these pages will have an application form or a guide on how to apply for open positions. This method of applying comes with the added benefit that there is no middle man, you apply with the company looking for labour directly.

Example: Western Downs Green Power Hub, the largest Australian solar farm currently under construction in Queensland. https://www.westerndownssolar.com.au/work-with-us

Dedicated Job listing websites

In Australia, there are 3 main websites for job seekers. Seek is the largest of the 3, but it's still worth having a look on Jora and Indeed as well.

An advantage of looking for jobs through these websites is that they act as aggregators. You don't need to look up and visit each project's website individually, they are all neatly listed with just a few button clicks.

The downside is that these listings are often handled by recruiting agencies on the behalf of the actual project, so the process can be a little slower/more complicated.

Specialised Recruitment Agencies

Getting in touch with recruitment agencies specialising in the construction industry is similar to the job listing websites to an extend, as recruitment agencies heavily rely on these websites to search for workers.

The main advantage is that once they have your profile on file and think they found a good match, they will get in touch with you even prior to listing the job on external websites. This can help you cut ahead of the competition.

Recruitment agencies to consider in Queensland include Agri Labour, Agri Talent and Solar Train.

Employment Service Providers

Employment Service Providers are another interesting way to potentially find jobs on Solar Farms. After meeting up with an Employment Consultant, they will be there to assist with polishing up your résumé, help you finding and applying for jobs, and even pay for eligible qualifications that you might need (including the courses listed above)!

The downside of recruitment agencies is eligibility: You'll need to be an Australian Citizen or permanent resident. Extra eligibility criteria might apply depending on your circumstances.

Some of the major employment service providers to consider in Queensland include Tursa Employment & Training, Mylestones, ETC and Help Employment and Training.

So, which method is best?

While this will depend on your personal circumstances to an extend, the methods described in this guide are not mutually exclusive. In fact, there is no harm in initiating talks whit an Employment Service Provider or Recruitment Specialist while also applying though other methods.

Queensland Solar Farm Jobs for Backpackers

In addition to the attractive pay and cheap/free accomodation and meals, there is yet another benefit for Backpackers and other Working Holiday Visa holders: The possibility to extend your Visa! Solar Farm work falls under Class 3109 - Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (sub-category Electricity power plant construction, see details here), which is eligible for Working Holiday Visa renewals. Follow the steps outlined in this guide to start applying for Queensland solar farm jobs!