Your Say SA 2020 Vision: Not enough good jobs to go around in SA
Jobs are the biggest issue facing South Australia according to the Sunday Mail’s landmark Your Say SA 2020 survey – but an overwhelming number are concerned about a particular issue: Under-employment.
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YOUR SAY SA 2020 VISION
- It’s time for South Australia be bold
- You little beauty: The inside word on SA
- South Aussie pollies aren’t listening to the people
South Australia’s largest business lobby is not surprised locals are pessimistic about job opportunities and are concerned about under-employment.
More than eight in 10 Your Say SA survey respondents said they did not feel there are enough job opportunities in SA.
Females (85.6 per cent) are more likely than males (83.2 per cent) to think there are not enough jobs.
And despite less than half saying they have had trouble getting a job, 84.3 per cent are concerned about under-employment.
Business SA executive director industry and government engagement Anthony Penney said he was not surprised many South Australians are concerned about under-employment.
He said under-employment had grown from 8.9 per cent in February to 10.4 per cent in October, but that figure had grown to as high as 12 per cent in 2015.
“We know that as the participation rate picks up and more people are looking for work, that they are not necessarily going to get full time hours, or the hours that they actually want they want,” Mr Penney said.
When asked what industries will deliver jobs and opportunities for the state, survey respondents named defence and space more than any other sectors.
Faith in the mining sector and the food and wine industry were higher in regional areas but still polled well in the city. However they expressed concern regarding job opportunities in the arts.
Mr Penney agreed defence would be a huge jobs driver for SA. But he stressed human services jobs are still in huge demand.
“There are lots of career opportunities in human services,” he said.
“It is an industry where a lot of the roles are in frontline allied health jobs But there are other opportunities within corporate head offices, including everything from graduate accountants and financial professionals to marketers and graphic designers,” he said.
“Human services is the number one growth sector for employment in South Australia, and in most states for that matter.”
Mr Penney said the State Government should be commended for trying to get more South Australians into trades.
The government has a plan to get an additional 20,800 South Australians into apprenticeships and traineeships over four years. “We continually hear from employers that there are skills shortages in trades,” Mr Penney said.
He said it was important that trades continued to get promoted. “We know, hands down, that the average fourth year apprentice when they go out into the workplace earns more than a lawyer fresh out of law school.”
Mr Penney said the state’s public sector could also do more to employ graduates.
“There has been a hollowing out of the corporate sector and if you think about graduate programs, while there are some, they are limited,” he said.
“We have been in conversation with the government, and they are looking at leveraging the fact that they are the biggest employer in the state, to provide career pathways for traineeships that can then be upskilled and moved out into the private sector afterwards.”
ARE TRADES AN ISSUE IN SA?
By Tim Williams
Esther Rosen is glad her boys are in jobs, have gained qualifications, and are happy with their career paths.
The Seacombe Gardens resident is mum to 20-year-old tradie twins Daniel, an apprentice plumber, and Jesse, a trades assistant with qualifications including a forklift licence and dogman ticket, who is currently working for an engineering firm.
“It’s funny, their dad was working in the construction industry and tried to steer them away from it,” she says.
“I’m just happy they’ve got jobs and got qualifications under their belt.
“They’ve always worked or volunteered since they were young. They’ve always been hard workers.”
It turns out that the need to do more to encourage young people into trades is an issue on which just about all South Australians are in agreement.
A whopping 93 per cent of respondents voted ‘yes’ overall and, surprisingly, the proportion of females in favour was slightly higher than males.
Support ranged from 85 per cent among people aged under 25, up to 99 per cent among over-65s.
The survey comes after the State Government in October released its strategy for vocational education in schools.
It aims to tie courses much more closely to industry needs and clear career paths, boost poor completion rates, and ensure VET is a valued and well-promoted option, not just a fallback for disengaged teens.
Education Minister John Gardner has said it is vital schools prepare students for jobs in growing industries such as defence.
Ms Rosen said trades suited her sons but they were not for everyone, and the key for young people was to choose something that would make them happy.
“There’s no sense pushing them into something they are not going to enjoy,” she said.
People living in the regions were more likely to support the push towards trades (97 per cent), versus 93 per cent in Adelaide.