In a more positive light, the study also revealed a 5.9% decrease from the number of people unemployed in June, which means more Australians are finding work every day.
Even before COVID, Australia has been experiencing a skills shortage for certain industries. With fewer skilled jobseekers in the market to meet demand for these industries, this represents great opportunities for persons wanting to skill-up and enter an industry that can offer secure employment.
According to a recent SEEK report, industries like Nursing, Plumbing, Childcare and Recruitment are experiencing higher demand for workers with an increase in job vacancy advertising.
In addition, the National Skills Commission regularly reviews the national skills needs of Australia and produces a Skills Priority List, based on detailed labour market research and analysis. The below list features the shortages and future demand for occupations across Australia as of June 2021.
Occupations in national shortage with strong future demand:
- Accountant (General)
- Aged or Disabled Carer
- Agricultural and Horticultural Mobile Plant Operator
- Agricultural Consultant
- Agricultural Scientist
- Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics, Mechanical, Structures)
- Arborist
- Baker – Regional Shortage
- Butcher or Smallgoods Maker
- Chef
- Child Care Worker
- Civil Engineer
- Clinical Psychologist
- Cook
- Corporate Services Manager
- Developer Programmer
- Educational Psychologist
- Electrical Engineer
- Electrician (General, Special Class)
- Enrolled Nurse
- External Auditor
- Geotechnical Engineer
- Hospital Pharmacist – Regional Shortage
- ICT Project Manager
- ICT Security Specialist
- Internal Auditor
- Landscape Gardener
- Locksmith
- Management Accountant
- Mechanical Engineer
- Metal Fabricator
- Mining Engineer (excluding Petroleum)
- Multimedia Specialist
- Optometrist – Regional Shortage
- Organisational Psychologist
- Orthoptist – Regional Shortage
- Pastrycook – Regional Shortage
- Petroleum Engineer
- Pressure Welder
- Quality Assurance Manager
- Quantity Surveyor
- Retail Pharmacist – Regional Shortage
- Shearer
- Sheetmetal Trades Worker
- Software Engineer
- Sonographer
- Speech Pathologist
- Structural Engineer
- Surveyor
- Taxation Accountant
- Transport Engineer
- Urban and Regional Planner – Regional Shortage
- Veterinarian
- Welder (First Class)
To view the full Skills Priority List, visit https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/2021-skills-priority-list
For those that are currently unemployed and looking to get back into the workforce or even those looking to change careers, it might be worth looking into training courses that can help you learn new skills and get you started in the industry.
Looking to re-skill for a new career path? BUSY At Work provide a range of employment, training, and apprenticeship support services that can assist. For more information, visit www.busyatwork.com.au
