LHH, Think & Grow and Indeed on the 2022 Skills Priority List Key Findings Report

The National Skills Commission for the Australian Government yesterday published the 2022 Skills Priority List Key Findings Report. The report reveals what occupations are short of labour in Australia. New to the list this year include hotel or motel managers, insurance brokers, and dentists, among many others. Dropping off the list this year but included in 2021 were biochemists, ICT project managers, urban and regional planners, and more.

Occupations (127 of them) that remained on the list from last to this year include surveyors, veterinarians, optometrists, bricklayers, and bakers.

A summary of the report's findings stated that: "The Professionals occupation group saw a large increase in the number of occupations in shortage, with about two in five occupations (or 39%) in shortage in 2022, compared with one in five (or 19%) in 2021. This is the second-largest percentage increase in shortages within any major occupation group. The result was largely driven by Health Professional occupations ... Large employing Professional occupations that were found to be in shortage were primarily health and education occupations, including Primary School Teacher, Secondary School Teacher, General Practitioner and Registered Nurses."

HR Leader invited industry experts to share their thoughts following the release of the 2022 Skills Priority List Key Findings Report.

Commenting on the report, LHH's managing director for Australia and New Zealand, James McIlvena, said: “Of note to me in reviewing the report is that despite the tightening labour market and increased recruitment difficulty, that employer responses further underlined the importance of investing in upskilling and reskilling to enable the mobility and retention of existing talent to meet future needs of in-demand skills."

He added: "This data tells us employers will preference restructuring the organisation or give up on filling the position before they will change the position requirements, working conditions or the remuneration.”

Deepak Singh, partner at Think & Grow, called out where opportunities might be being missed: “The doubling of the skills shortage across many industries is concerning. As highlighted recently by McKinsey, 35 per cent of those who quit their jobs in the past two years stayed in the same industry. This highlights a number of employers that may be missing out on the 65 per cent of candidates looking for a change by not thinking differently."

"So many people have an amazing story to tell of their combined work and lived experiences, in relation to a role. Alongside upskilling and reskilling, we need to be more open to the real, softer skills that lead to success," said Mr Singh.

Indeed’s senior APAC economist, Callam Pickering, said: “Skill shortages across Australian industries and occupations have become more severe over the past year. There is an urgent need to address skill shortages otherwise it will undermine the ability of Australian businesses to expand, compete and innovate.”

“There is also no easy fix. Almost every policy response – outside of an unprecedented increase in skilled migration – will take years to actually address the skill shortages businesses face today.”

“In the meantime, Australian businesses will need to be innovative to deal with these skill shortages. Paying staff more, expanding their candidate search and investing heavily in training their existing workforce makes a lot of sense in an increasingly tight labour market,” shared Mr Pickering.

The report summary states: "The past year has shown a significant tightening in the Australian labour market, and the findings of the 2022 SPL reflect this, with a large proportion of diverse occupations in shortage. The ongoing effects of COVID-19, along with the changing economic landscape have influenced a range of challenges in many occupations, including Health Professionals and Teachers, while ongoing issues in the labour market remain, such as persistent shortages of Technicians and Trades Workers."