Jobseekers lack skills to fill vacancies, says analysis

A yawning skills gap needs to be plugged if Australians are to fill the surge in job vacancies through the pandemic, according to a new analysis.

Employment Minister Stuart Robert. Picture: Gary Ramage

A yawning skills gap needs to be plugged if Australians are to fill the surge in job vacancies through the pandemic – with nine in 10 jobseekers not having the requisite training demanded by the vast ­majority of available roles, according to a new analysis by the ­Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

As employers keep the pressure on the government to supercharge the migrant intake following ­almost two years of closed borders, both the Coalition and Labor have said the focus must be on ensuring locals are given the best opportunity to fill labour shortages.

With bipartisan support ahead of the election for sticking to pre-Covid migrant quotas, the new government analysis reveals the task ahead for policymakers.

The research shows 85 per cent of advertised roles included in the National Skills Commission internet vacancies data require post-secondary school qualifications. But departmental analysis shows about 89 per cent of those in mainstream employment services ­either haven’t developed the skills to take up these opportunities, or face circumstances in their life that make finding work difficult.

Employment Minister Stuart Robert said: “We are addressing this challenge through record funding – $7.1bn in 2021 alone – and a data-driven approach to ­ensure Australians … have the opportunity to get into high-quality jobs in their local area.

“We are funding over 463,000 low-fee or no-fee JobTrainer training places that reflect local skill needs and which are being ­delivered through TAFE and registered training organisations.

“We are seeing results. We start 2022 on the right track with almost half a million job-ready Australians already skilling up or skilled up, with 270,000 JobTrainer enrolments and the highest level of trade apprentices on record with over 220,000 in training.”

KPMG analysis has revealed that ramping up the annual ­migration intake to 350,000 ­between now and the end of the decade would offset the collapse in population growth during the pandemic and add $120bn to the size of the economy by 2029.

But Josh Frydenberg told Sky News that the closure of the international border through the health crisis meant the population would be permanently smaller than forecast before Covid-19, and gave no sign the Morrison government intended to boost the ­migrant intake, which government projections forecast will return to 235,000 a year from 2024-25.

 

“Now that we are opening our borders, we are starting to welcome back migrants, but we will do so in a considered way and a way that will strengthen our economy,” the Treasurer said.

Mr Frydenberg told Sky News on Monday morning that it was “always about getting the balance right when it comes to our ­migration settings”, as he celebrated a “jobs boom” that had driven unemployment down to 4.6 per cent and the lowest since the global financial crisis.

“We will continue to have a ­balanced, considered approach to ­migration, recognising that it has helped make Australia the strong country, the diverse country, the tolerant country we are,” he said.

Acting opposition immigration spokesman Andrew Giles pressed the government to announce its migration plan, saying Labor favoured giving “Australians a first go and a fair go to fill job vacancies”.

“Migration has always played an important role in the economy and will continue to in the recovery, but it’s important we take this opportunity to get the mix right,” Mr Giles said.

“The Liberals pushed temporary migration to historic highs and cut off pathways to permanency.”

Labor released its own $1.2bn Future Made in Australia Skills Plan last month, pledging if elected to provide up to 20,000 extra university places over 2022-23. The policy will also fund 465,000 free TAFE spots, with a focus on areas with skill shortages.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar criticised both major parties’ migration ­policies, and again called for an ­increase in annual permanent skilled migration to 200,000 for at least the next two years.

“With businesses facing the worst skill and labour shortages in more than three decades, it’s regrettable that neither of the major parties have committed to an ambitious skilled migration program to plug the jobs gaps we’re seeing across the economy,” he said.

“Skilled migration is not a zero-sum game. We must also increase investment in our education and training systems … but the short­ages we face are here and now.”