Survey puts figure on skills shortage
By Tom Arup | theage.com.au | 23 April
Australia has a shortfall of 240,000 full-time skilled workers, which is severely hampering the capacity for innovation in industry, a study of almost 500 chief executives has found.
The study by accounting firm Deloitte and the Australian Industry Group showed that 70% of the CEOs surveyed said their company had suffered generally because of the skills shortage, and 60% said the shortage had hurt their company's ability to innovate.
Ai Group chief executive Heather Ridout yesterday told BusinessDay the only solution was a national rethink on approaches to education and the gaining of skills.
"It is a very powerful finding. It puts education and skills in a sharper light than they have been before," Ms Ridout said. She said the survey gave ammunition to those pushing for the Government to spend more on education as well as putting some pressure on companies to put into it as well.
The study also revealed that Australian workers were lacking in "soft skills" including problem solving, communication and personal skills.
Ms Ridout said yesterday that improving the skills of staff, especially older staff, was essential for Australian industry if it wanted to increase its skill base. She said that the complexity of basic trades had increased "perversely" as technology had been implemented to make jobs easier.
"People have more responsibility in relation to tasks, they have got to think about machinery differently, they are required to solve problems in the workplace.
"The apprentice system has been very much based around entry level, just from school, and they learn differently and have different requirements than existing workers.
"Australia hasn't focused too much on this over the previous few years and we are going to have to take the lid off and take a good look at it."
Of the companies surveyed, 27% said that skilled technicians and tradespeople were most in demand — the most of any field — while 22.6% of companies indicated that skilled labourers were most needed.
The report also detailed that the shortage of skilled workers was most felt in major construction and services companies.
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First published by TheAge.com.au on April 23 2008
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