Unpacking workforce pressures: What the 2025 OSD Report reveals about ECEC shortages

Australia’s early childhood workforce continues to face deep, structural shortages, driven by training constraints and retention challenges, according to the latest Occupation Shortage Driver Report 2025 from Jobs and Skills Australia.

While the overall number of occupations in shortage has eased slightly since 2024, the early childhood sector remains acutely affected by two persistent shortage drivers: a long training gap for early childhood teachers and a retention gap for child carers. The report introduces significant changes to its methodology, offering a clearer picture of where and why critical workforce pressures persist.

The 2025 report includes a major overhaul of the OSD methodology to improve data integrity and comparability. These changes include:

• Data transformation using standard deviation thresholds to reduce volatility and improve stability in how shortages are assessed.
• A new data source for retention analysis, shifting from the ABS’s PJSM survey to Jobs and Skills Australia’s Data on Occupation Mobility (DOM), after the ABS deemed its own data unsuitable for year-on-year analysis.

Despite the updates, shortage drivers remained consistent for 85 of the 103 occupation groups analysed, suggesting the new framework offers a more reliable long-term tool for workforce planning.

Sector snapshot: early childhood education in the spotlight

1. Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers – Long training gap

This group continues to be in shortage, primarily due to the long training pathway required to enter the profession.

• What’s driving it: Sustained increases in workforce demand, linked to higher labour force participation by women and growing recognition of early childhood education’s value.
• The numbers: An estimated 21,000 additional teachers are needed to meet current demand and ensure sustainable workloads.
• What’s needed: System-level responses, including increased throughput in teacher education programs, addressing constraints in placements and boosting the VET teaching workforce.

2. Childcare – Retention gap

Childcare educators, one of the largest ECEC occupation groups, employing over 173,000 workers are affected by below-average retention.

• What’s driving it: Low pay, poor working conditions and lack of access to social infrastructure continue to impact job satisfaction and longevity.
• What’s needed: A dual response from both employers and government, including better remuneration, improved workplace culture, and stronger social supports such as childcare access and health services.

The report identifies three other major shortage drivers relevant across sectors:

• Suitability gap: Candidates are qualified on paper but lack experience or soft skills expected by employers. Predominant in professional roles such as engineering.
• Retention gap in care and food services: Similar to child carers, aged care workers and bakers experience high attrition rates linked to work conditions.
• Uncertainty: Some roles, such as registered nurses, have moved into an ‘Uncertain’ category, reflecting complex, multi-factor causes that require more nuanced analysis.

The 2025 OSD report reinforces what the sector already knows: workforce shortages in early childhood education and care are not one-dimensional.

• Training gaps demand long-term investment in workforce supply, including incentives, flexible pathways and expanded training capacity.
• Retention gaps require improved pay, conditions and workplace culture to keep educators in the sector.
• Systemic responses must reflect the unique drivers within each occupational group and move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions.

As Jobs and Skills Australia continues to refine its approach, the ECEC sector has a critical opportunity to advocate for evidence-informed workforce strategies that reflect the realities on the ground.

Access the full report here: Jobs and Skills Australia – Occupation Shortage Driver Report 2025.