Clarius Skills Index
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on the latest labour market trends
Major employment sectors to be hit by
skills shortfalls
Australia’s health sector is among three
industries that will be substantially hit by a skills gap within
the next decade and a half as the ageing workforce retires,
according to the latest Clarius Skills Index.
Analysis undertaken by KPMG Econtech shows
that based on current trends, for every 110 health professionals
who retire, including GPs, nurses, pharmacists, vets and
dietitians, there will only be 84 qualified people to replace
them.
A similar situation is expected in
education, with only 73 qualified people being available to fill
every 107 jobs created by retirement. Engineering is another sector
that will be hit by skills shortages, with 18 per cent of those
employed now just a few years from retirement.
The September quarter Clarius Skills Index,
the only measure of supply and demand of skilled labour, eased to a
balanced ranking of
99.7, with an
additional 8,500 skilled people to jobs, from a perfectly balanced
result of 100.0 in the June quarter.
Kym Quick, Chief Executive Officer of the
Clarius Group of recruitment companies, said the easing of skills
pressure reflected the moderating Australian economy and the
uncertain outlook for growth.
“However, the Index does provide false
comfort, as the skills gap are only closing as a result of the weak
economy and not as a result of any real measures to address the
problem of structural shortages,” Ms Quick
said.
“Negative sentiment is playing the biggest
role in the demand for skills at present. Generally, there is a
reluctance to take on permanent hires, but still enough demand that
there is a gradual improvement in contractor and temporary staff
demand.
“Among so much uncertainty, the one thing
we can be sure of is that the market is cyclical and although this
current cycle is unlike any other we have seen in recent times,
there are clear indications it will recover and demand for skills
will be higher than ever. The more confident and savvy
operators are using this as an opportunity to shore up talent while
it is available.
“But the reality now is that the problem of
skills gaps persists in seven of the 20 occupations surveyed and
will re-emerge for many others once the economy picks up pace and
hiring follows suit.
“This will be further compounded as our
ageing workforce reaches retirement.”
Read the full media release
here.
Download
the latest September 2011 Quarter Clarius Skills
Index
The Clarius Skills Index is Australia’s first ever National skills
index that measures the extent of skilled labour shortages or
oversupply across 20 occupation categories, using labour force data
supplied by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Latest
Sky News Business Interview Broadcasted 07.11.11
If you would like more information, download the full media release or send your enquiry to feedback@clarius.com.au Click
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reports.