‘Remarkable’ surge in occupations experiencing skills shortages revealed

The “remarkable” surge in the number of Australian occupations experiencing skills shortages has been revealed.

Labor will look to speed up immigration pathways for skilled workers as new data reveals 31 per cent of occupations are now considered in demand.

The number of professions on the skills priority list, which is used to inform government policy on training and migration, has leapt from 153 to 286 occupations over the past year.

The list will be released by the National Skills Commission on Thursday.

Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor said Australia was grappling with the “really difficult challenge” of a “remarkable” surge in industries searching for workers.

“We need to have a much faster way of delivering on the skilled migration pathways for industries that are crying out for skills,” he told ABC TV.

“And whether they be nurses or tech workers or baggage handlers, wherever you look across the economy, there are shortages and it is a very significant priority of this government.”

The Albanese government has committed to improving migration pathways, including in the short term to meet acute demand, as well as investing in the education and training of local workers.

Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor says the Albanese government will speed up migration pathways for skilled workers. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Mr O’Connor will meet with his state and territory counterparts in Melbourne on Friday to hash out a shared funding agreement with the aim of solving the skills crisis.

More progress is expected on the $1.1bn agreement announced at the Jobs and Skills Summit last month to fund an extra 180,000 fee-free TAFE places.

It was also unveiled at the summit that Australia’s permanent migration cap will be lifted from 160,000 to a record 195,000 places this year, and $36.1m will be spent on a surge workforce to clear a visa backlog of almost one million workers.

Mr O’Connor said on Thursday the government had dedicated resources to Home Affairs to accelerate the processing of a “massive congestion” of skills visas.

He also called on employers to step up and invest in their workers, saying “some employers could do better than they do now”.

“Some employers do remarkably well investing in skills, and it’s good for their companies when they do so,” he said.

Mr O’Connor accused the Coalition of failing to plan over the past decade in areas of emerging demand.