Australia’s future economic growth is reliant on high level skilled workers, a recent study has revealed.
A report from the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency (AWPA) has shown that national trends show a high demand in skilled workers is necessitated to build a trained workforce to drive the country’s economy forwards.
According to the paper – titled Future focus: Australia’s skills and workforce development needs – there will be an ongoing need for workers skilled at a high level – including tertiary degrees and apprenticeship programs.
At present almost 60 per cent of the nation’s workforce has a qualification outside of school, with the figure expected to increase to between 65 and 75 per cent.
Philip Bullock, of AWPA, said in order for the Australian economy to experience continued growth and remain globally competitive, there needed to be an emphasis on devising policies and approaches to generate the required skilled workforce.
He commented: “Our growth as a nation will be constrained unless we have the right settings over the medium term to produce sufficient supply of qualifications to meet continuing strong industry demand.
“The mining boom has focussed attention on one area of skills shortage, but over the longer term, shortages are possible in many jobs and industries unless we start now to plan for the future.”
Encouraging more people to enrol in education programs such as bachelor degrees and mature age apprenticeships plays an important role in addressing the need for more skilled workers.
