Defence, healthcare, construction among industries with skills shortages

In-demand workers in certain industries are set to take advantage of Australia’s impending skills recession to secure huge pay increases. See the list.

Australia is on the cusp of a skills recession, with in-demand workers set to take advantage of the impending crisis to secure huge increases in pay.

Two in five employers say the nation’s chronic skills shortage has intensified even further over the past year, with 78 per cent now believing a lack of suitable staff will impact the operation and growth of their business, research by recruiter Hays shows.

With the situation not likely to improve for at least the next decade, workers should seize the opportunity to negotiate salary increases and promotions based on their skill sets, says Hays Asia Pacific chief executive officer Matthew Dickason.

“The skills recession means you have a stronger negotiating position when looking for a new job or asking for a pay rise,” he says.

“It’s a great time to explore your options and advance your career so polish your skills, prove your value to a potential employer and seize the opportunities available to take your career to new heights.”

Healthcare staff are in short supply.

The skills in need

Defence skills are most in need, Dickason says, with 94 per cent of industry employers struggling to find suitable staff.

Widespread skills shortages are also crippling the human resources, healthcare, construction, technology and engineering sectors.

In addition to the technical capabilities required to perform a particular role, Dickason says employers want workers with proven skills in communication, adaptability and attention to detail.

“Looking ahead, employers have told us they expect to need more critical thinking, agile leadership and both digital and data literacy skills in the next decade,” he says.

“A learning mindset is also valued by employers, who want employees with the capacity to continuously adapt and grow their skills in response to technological advancements, emerging trends and changing industry landscapes.”

Word of caution

While businesses are willing to pay more to secure the right employee, Dickason warns workers not to get greedy.

“It’s important to remain realistic,” he says.

“While you have strong bargaining power, don’t price yourself out of consideration.

“Budgets can only stretch so far, so understand the typical salary for your role and consider the value that the right benefits can add in terms of your career and work-life balance.”

Brendon Hicks says it has been “challenging to find the right talent” for a role he is recruiting for.

Leveraging salary

Brendon Hicks used his in-demand sales skills to negotiate a sizeable salary increase when he joined marketing firm Club Demonstration Services as a country manager in April.

“Salary was really the only leverage I had and I absolutely leveraged that – I probably got another 20 grand (on what was initially offered for the role), which was great,” says Hicks, who was also considering recruitment offers from other companies.

The Hays research shows more than three-quarters of employers in the sales sector are struggling to find appropriate staff.

Hicks is now on the other side of the bargaining table and looking to recruit a national sales manager to CDS, which handles product demonstrations for Costco. He says finding a suitable person has been challenging.

“It has been really difficult to find the right talent,” he says.

Desperate for IT workers

GoTo vice president Lindsay Brown says there is a desperate need for more tech professionals, with more than half of Aussie organisations increasing their IT workloads, mainly due to hybrid work arrangements.

With IT teams stretched thin, businesses have become more vulnerable to cyber threats, face longer downtime and disruption and hurt their customer experience, he says.

“If you look at most companies, where an IT team might have had to support one office with 20 employees, they now have to support 20 small home offices as well as however many central offices they had in the past (prior to work-from-home arrangements),” Brown says.

“That knock-on effect is why there’s more demand for IT services and IT professionals.”

The shortage of IT talent has forced employers to pay top dollar to attract and retain talent – recent salary surveys show a cyber security worker or a full stack developer can command a $130,000 wage, while a business analyst can earn $120,000.

“The number one (in-demand skill within IT) is cyber security,” Brown says.

“You see (the shortage of cyber security workers reflected) in the number of jobs being advertised and in how much you can make but, on the not-so-great side, it’s also reflected in the number of data breaches we are currently seeing.

“Those people that have the right skills, and know what they are doing, are in very high demand and can be pretty confident in asking what they want (in terms of salary).”

The 10 industries with the most skills shortages:

1. Defence (94 per cent)

2. Human resources (92 per cent)

3. Policy and strategy (92 per cent)

4. Healthcare (91 per cent)

5. Construction (90 per cent)

6. Manufacturing and operations (90 per cent)

7. Insurance (90 per cent)

8. Technology (90 per cent)

9. Trades and labour (89 per cent)

10. Engineering (89 per cent)

Source: Hays