National Skills Commission report shows shortages doubled in 2022 through tight labour market

A new National Skills Commission report has shown that occupation shortages doubled in 2022 under tight labour market conditions, revealing that nearly a third of all Australian sectors, including early childhood education and care (ECEC) are struggling to fill vacancies.

The Federal Government has pledged to establish a new agency in response to the findings, which showed that the number of occupations struggling to fill positions has jumped from 153 to 286 over the year, meaning nearly a third of all Australian sectors are confronting serious worker shortfalls.

Along with ECEC professionals, the Skills Priority List shows that Australia is in desperate need of registered nurses, software engineers, and care workers, with construction managers, and motor mechanics also near the top.

There were over 300,000 vacant positions in the year to August 2022, a growth rate of more than 40 per cent since the last report. Of the 20 largest employing occupations, more than half face serious labour shortages.

According to the Federal Government, Australia’s skills shortages were the second highest in the OECD. The commission said shortages in both had been persistent over time, suggesting Australia’s tightening job market was not the only explanation.

Jobs and Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor said though the pandemic exacerbated issues, shortages existed prior.

“We’ve failed to identify existing shortages and forecast areas of demand in the labour market,” he said. “The staggering jump in occupations listed reinforces the urgent need to tackle skills shortages.”

Jobs and Skills Australia will be established as a new agency to attempt to address the issues, with the Minister saying there was a need to invest more in the existing and future workforce, boost TAFE spending and develop a way to “fill the existing gaps and those future shortages that will happen if we don’t attend to it.” 

Mr O’Connor said he would not rule out a number of further measures, including making more tertiary qualifications free, if necessary.

“I think everything has to be on the table when it comes to supplying the skills and labour we need.”

To read the original coverage of this story, produced by The ABC, please see here.