Electricians, nurses and IT specialists among Australia’s most in-demand professions

Nine out of ten jobs in Australia over the next five years will require a post-high school qualification, with new forecasts revealing the top skills in demand.

Nine out of ten jobs in Australia over the next five years will require a post-high school qualification, with the federal government prioritising free vocational training places to address the nation’s acute skills crisis.

Child care, electricians, chefs and registered nurses are among the top professions forecasted to be in demand by 2027, with the government first turning to school leavers, workers wanting to retrain and unpaid carers to fill the expected gaps in the workforce.

Labor will seek input from unions, businesses, state governments and industry bodies to develop solutions to the skills shortage, with Australia also in dire need of thousands more early childhood teachers, IT software developers, civil engineering, aged and disability carers.

Anthony Albanese said the government’s Jobs and Skills Summit would bring these groups together next week to address Australia’s economic challenges.

During the election Labor committed $850 million for 465,000 fee-free TAFE courses and vocational training infrastructure, as well as creating 45,000 extra places for industries suffering shortages, and ensuring one in ten workers on federally funded projects are apprentices.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said fee-free TAFE places will help ease Australia’s acute skills shortage. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The Prime Minister said improved skills and training opportunities in Australia would mean “better jobs” for more people in more parts of the country.

“My government is focused on growing our vocational and training sector, delivering 465,000 fee-free TAFE places to help address skills shortages, and upgrading key TAFE infrastructure,” he said.

Construction managers will be one of the top skills in demand in Australia by 2027.

Aged care workers and registered nurses are also in high demand in Australia.

“We also have a strong focus on opening up more opportunities for apprentices and traineeships, giving people on the job work experience.”

Mr Albanese said his government’s goal was to build a strong vocational skills sector to help more Australians get “secure” and “well-paying jobs,” while also providing the workers businesses needed to grow the economy.

“Next week we are hosting our Jobs and Skills Summit that will brings together unions, business groups and the people who help run our world-class VET sector, to look at how we deliver immediate action on the skills shortages Australia is facing,” he said.

Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor said one of the biggest challenges facing businesses was the lack of workers with skills required for the jobs available.

Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor said the government’s upcoming jobs summit will be an opportunity to solve the skilled worker shortage in Australia. Picture: Ian Currie.

“The challenges have grown but they are not insurmountable,” he said.

“The first bill introduced to this parliament was to establish a new independent body Jobs and Skills Australia, to provide independent advice to government so we can better respond to future skills demand and better match taxpayers investment in areas of need.”

Mr O’Connor said National Skills Week was a chance to “recognise the value” of the vocational education training sector and promote it as an “important stepping stone on the path to a good career”.

Originally published as Electricians, nurses and IT specialists among Australia’s most in-demand professions