Australia faces 250,000-worker shortfall by 2030

A new report warns Australia's workforce will fall short by almost 250,000 workers by 2030 amid fast-growing demand for finance, technology, and business (FTB) talent.

Demand for FTB talent is projected to rise by 2.2% per annum to 2030, compared to 1.3% for overall employment across the economy, according to a new report from the Future Skills Organisation (FSO).

This means that by 2030, Australia is expected to need 3.5 million FTB roles — nearly 450,000 more than what the country demands today.

"Within FTB industries, the deficit will reach roughly 108,000 workers. Across the whole economy, the shortfall in FTB occupations will be almost 250,000," the report read.

Projected workforce gaps

According to the report, the FTB roles with the biggest estimated workforce gaps by 2030 are bookkeepers (27,100), software applications and programmers (19,600), as well as office managers (16,800).

The other roles expected to have major talent shortages in the finance industry are:

• Accounting Clerks (26,000)
• Accountants (6,000)
• Financial Investment Advisers and Managers (5,900)
• Bank Workers (5,300)

For the tech industry, the other roles with expected major gaps are:

• Database and ICT Security Specialists (18,000)
• ICT Managers (16,300)
• Computer Network Professionals (13,600)
• ICT Support Technicians (12,900)

In the business sector, the other occupations projected to have the largest gaps are:

• Information Officers (16,200)
• Receptionists (15,300)
• Secretaries (8,100)
• Chief executives and managing directors (7,900)

Pipeline problems

Patrick Kidd, CEO of FSO, attributed the shortfall to the current approach of the government in building a pipeline for talent.

"The education and training pipeline is not yet delivering the volume or alignment needed," Kidd said in the report. "And while demand for digital and transferable skills is rising, too many learners and employers still struggle to navigate the system."

The report outlined six areas that need to be addressed in order to achieve workforce development. They are:

• Employment pathways are not understood, well defined, or actioned by employers
• Training needs to be responsive to industry and aligned to employment pathways
• Training is not delivering on the skills most in demand
• Disjointed efforts to address skill gaps are fragmented and small scale
• Trainers need support to design quality training and assessment
• The system is not responsive to building FTB skills across the economy