Where have all the tradies gone

Among other measures, women are being encouraged to take up vocational courses to ease a critical skills shortage

- ELIOT HASTIE

In just over six months, thousands of young Australians will be finishing year 12 and moving on to the next stage of their lives, which will begin with making a decision. Typically, they will choose between obtaining a university degree or undertaking vocational education training (VET).

Most will choose the former. Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows 63% of people aged 15-74 have a post-school qualification, roughly split between bachelor's degrees and TAFE certificates. In the younger generations, bachelor's degrees are the clear winner.

What's losing out, however, is the trades sector. Australia faces a serious shortage of skilled tradies. According to the National Skills Commission (NSC), across all technician and trades worker occupations assessed for the 2021 skills priority list (SPL), 42% were found to be in shortage compared with 19% across all occupation groups. This is despite a projection for high future demand, with the NSC finding 30% of all occupations for technicians and trade workers have strong growth prospects.

According to Jobs and Skills Australia, these shortages have persisted for many years. "Prior to Covid-19, there was a long-term trend in the labour market where growth in skill level 1 occupations - that is, occupations usually requiring a bachelor's degree or higher educational attainment level - was much stronger than for other occupation types, including technicians and trades workers," a spokesperson says.

Over the past 20 years, in fact, employment in skill level 1 occupations has grown 86%, compared with just 32.7% for technician and trade workers.

The tighter labour market has meant the gap between both is widening. "The 2022 skills priority list found that 31% of all assessed occupations were in shortage (up from 19% in 2021), while 47% of technician and trades worker occupations were found to be in shortage (up from 42% in 2021)," the spokesperson says.