Technical and trade skills in short supply: Ai Group

Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has released survey data showing technicians and trades workers are in high demand, and increasingly hard to find.

AI Group’s Centre for Education and Training (CET) said 77% of businesses surveyed reported an increased need for these skills, and 79% said they were having difficulty finding or training staff to meet this need.

Businesses also reported an increased demand for managers and professionals but are finding them slightly easier to source. 69% of the businesses surveyed reported an increased need for managers, with 58% having difficulty finding or training staff to meet this need. 66% reported an increased skill need in relation to professionals, with 61% having difficulty finding or training to meet this need.

The data also shows that demand for technicians and trades workers is rising over time. In a survey from 2020, 49% reported an increased need for technicians and trades skills, and this rose to 69% in 2022 and then to 77% this year. The proportion of businesses having difficulty finding or training technicians and trades workers has increased from 39% of those surveyed in 2020 to 79% in 2024.

“Australian businesses are telling us they are struggling to find the technical and trades skills they need, and over recent years it has become a problem for more and more companies,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “Not being able to find the right people at the right time limits the ability of businesses to meet demand, grow and innovate, and this has negative consequences for our economy.”

When Ai Group asked businesses what actions they planned to take to meet their skill needs over the next 12 months, 77% said they would be re-skilling existing staff on the job and 63% said they would employ experienced people. They also plan to invest more in learning and development.

The findings are from Ai Group's CET survey, ‘Listening to Australian businesses on workforce and skills 2024’. The survey is run every two years.

For the full research, see: Skills in Demand in 2024.

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