Skills Shortage Creates Divide in Job Market

Australiaís healthcare, defence, legal and construction employers were amongst the hardest hit by Australiaís skills shortage last financial year, according to data from SEEK Intelligence.

The clear divide between Australiaís skilled and unskilled work sectors was also evident in the data, which revealed the majority of the roles jobseekers were forced to compete fiercely for were unskilled, while it was skilled roles that were difficult for employers to fill.

Commenting on the results, SEEK spokesperson Natalie Mactier said:

ìThe ëskills shortageí has long been a concern of Australian employers and weíre seeing it first hand with heavy jobseeker competition for unskilled roles such as retail sales assistants, housekeepers and call centre operators, while employers are struggling to recruit enough sonographers and private practice solicitors,î said Natalie Mactier.

ìFor school leavers perhaps starting to think about their options for next year, the obvious take away is that having qualifications in a not so tight employment market substantially improves their employment chances. And for those already in the job market, up-skilling could be an option.î

ìItís particularly interesting to note that the Defence industry has struggled to recruit enough navy and air force personnel during the past 12 months. Defence jobs offer some great benefits to recruits, including competitive salary packages and the opportunity to take on apprenticeships and traineeships.

ìRecruits can even get paid to undertake university degrees in areas such as engineering, technology, science, business and arts. With Defence ramping up recruitment efforts over the last year it will be interesting to see whether their efforts are rewarded with greater interest from jobseekers in the next financial year,î said Natalie Mactier.

The top ten jobs employers found the most difficult to fill in Australia were:


ìMonth in, month out we see radiologists and sonographers in hot demand around the country so itís not surprising to see that they were the hardest employees to recruit in the last financial year,

ìOne of the issues the industry reportedly has to deal with is the growing workload of these medical professionals as the medical industry uses multiple and complex diagnostic imagery services. An occupation as a radiologist or sonographer can therefore be demanding but can also be a very rewarding way to be part of the medical community,î said Natalie Mactier.