Six-figure jobs going in Australia where no university degree needed

The worker shortage is causing a crisis and it means employers are turning to unique ways to find staff, including poaching kids right out of high school.

The worker shortage crisis is forcing a national firm to headhunt high school leavers and train them up internally for jobs that will eventually command salaries as high as $148,000.

Accounting firm KPMG trialled a high school graduate program this year and plans to expand it in 2023, which will see students skip university and learn skills on the job, particularly in tech.

One of the roles includes a JavaScript developer, which on average earns $147,857 a year.

Richard Marrison, the KMPG partner running the program, said as part of the company’s strategy to broaden employment pathways into the firm, it piloted a technology traineeship this year.

“Specifically targeting high schools where participation in university tends to be lower, young people who have an interest in technology and students who might not have the networks to approach a large organisation like KPMG for employment,” he said.

“In some of the schools we targeted, student access to laptops was limited.

“Under the three-year program, we employed 10 school leavers in our Barangaroo office and supported them through a TAFE course one day a week. The program has been so successful that KPMG is looking at running it annually, and possibly expanding it into other offices.”

KMPG is targeting school leavers who might not have access to the firm otherwise. Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Other companies have also launched recruitment campaigns that require no experience but offer six-figure salaries.

Mining company Fortescue is looking for more than 700 people for its new mine in Western Australia, with roles like an entry field technician offering six figures with no experience.

Tech university graduates are still in hot demand thought with graphic design firm Canva looking for staff with graduate salaries up to $200,000 on offer.

Meanwhile, software company Atlassian is recruiting 1032 people in analytics and data science, engineering, marketing, customer experience and product management, who could be paid as much $200,000.

The typical salary of an Australian worker is $62,400 and it is not until a worker exceeds $91,000 or $1748 a week that are they are considered to be earning above average, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

However, some Aussie graduates are scoring starting salaries of up to $350,000 as a skills shortage plagues the IT sector.

Maddie Chapman, client partner, from the Atlassian recruitment RV on the Gold Coast. Picture: Jerad Williams

Despite the shortages, there is a goal to create 1.2 million jobs in tech by 2030 in Australia, according to the Tech Council of Australia.

Its report revealed that there are significant shortages, particularly for technical and experienced tech roles.

Vacancy rates in tech 60 per cent higher than the national average and are forecast to grow at triple the rate.

Competition is fierce for tech graduates. Picture: Supplied

The most severe shortages are in technical occupations like software programmers and computer network professionals but there are also big gaps in commercial and creative roles like product managers.

Roles in IT have seen salaries rise by as much as 20 per cent since the Covid pandemic with an infrastructure specialist’s average salary rising by 21 per cent to $147,251 a year, Seek found.

A data modeller attracts an average salary of $158,276 while an IT “security adviser” receives on average $165,950 a year.