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.
This story is from the May 2023 edition of Money Magazine Australia.
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This story is from the May 2023 edition of Money Magazine Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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