The government’s plan to boost skills across the nation

Persisting talent shortages across Australia have affected the future workforce. However, a proposed plan aiming to address jobs and skills was recently announced, with the hopes of plugging these gaps.

Towards a National Jobs and Skills Roadmap is the government’s response to these issues. According to the acting commissioner of Jobs and Skills Australia, Professor Peter Dawkins, the way forward is through training.

“The report includes recommendations which focus on harnessing knowledge from industry, education and training providers to build more pathways into trades and professions, as well as helping workers transition from other sectors by recognising micro-credentials and other types of training,” said Professor Dawkins.

“Australia is experiencing widespread skill shortages, the like of which we have not seen since the 1960s … The increases over the last three years are being driven by the continued tightness in labour market conditions.”

The Skills Priority List revealed that 36 per cent of occupations across the country are dealing with skills shortages. This is 5 percentage points higher than in 2022.

According to the federal government, this is due to ongoing recruitment challenges that emerged in 2021. The occupations facing the highest number of skills shortages are:

1. Technicians and trades workers (50 per cent)
2. Professionals (48 per cent)
3. Labourers (36 per cent)
4. Machine operators and drivers (34 per cent)

The professionals subgroup saw dramatic skills shortages. The major roles influencing this are:

1. Health (82 per cent)
2. ICT (69 per cent)
3. Design, engineering, science and transport (54 per cent)
4. Education (47 per cent)
5. Legal, social and welfare (24 per cent)
6. Business, human resource and marketing (21 per cent)

Technicians and trade workers were hit hardest by shortages, with the worst affected being:

1. Food (100 per cent)
2. Construction (100 per cent)
3. Automotive and engineering (80 per cent)
4. Electrotechnology and telecommunications (73 per cent)
5. Engineering, ICT and science technicians (33 per cent)
6. Animal, agricultural and horticultural (24 per cent)

“While underlying drivers of shortages can vary across occupations, it is anticipated that these shortages reflect either a lack of people who have the essential technical skills or other (non-technical) qualities that employers consider are important; or those with the right technical skills and other qualities who aren’t willing to apply for the vacancies under current pay and working conditions,” explained Professor Dawkins.

“Our labour market is facing widespread and elevated skills shortages … We are seeing low levels of unemployment and high participation rates, and with the strong labour market brings considerable challenges … Significant action will be required to address Australia’s current skills needs – these are multifaceted with different underlying reasons.”

The immense shortage of trades workers could create widespread issues for Australia. With skills shortages hitting 100 per cent of some industries, action is needed to help shift these results.

Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Tom Devitt outlined the importance of supporting our trades: “This still represents one of the most acute shortages of skilled tradespeople since HIA started this report in 2003 … The shortages are particularly acute in Australia’s regions and in trades like bricklaying, carpentry and roofing.”

“As more workers arrive from overseas, home building and renovations timelines that have blown out during the pandemic will shrink. The demand for and the supply of skilled tradespeople will approach equilibrium again.”

So, what is the government’s plan to address these issues? According to the roadmap, the areas of focus will be:

• Education and training
• Migration system reforms
• A joined-up national skills system