Skills Shortages / Metal Trades – Australian Demographic

For 25-years we have been warned that skills shortages in certain industries will become an issue for Australian workplaces, especially as our aging workforce retires. For the same duration we have been promised federal and state funding to address skills shortages particularly in the manufacturing sector. These so called funds have been too little too late and the problem stems further than just funding and grants. The issue is directly proportional to the diminished manufacturing sector as a beneficiary to low- grade imported goods swamping the market-place and manufacturing heading off shore. More than ever these skills shortages are now rife, creating supply constraints specifically in mechanical trades in engineering fields such as Fitting and machining, toolmakers and steel workers. We only need to contact the local TAFE colleges to confirm the lack of students entering into apprenticeships and limited applications when advertising for skilled trades people. With the next mining boom underway, the lure of exorbitant salaries will attract the residual skilled trades away from suburbia with the inherent demand outstripping supply in the near-future. Whether we are advocates or not, or until the government implement sustainable policies, skilled immigrants may be the only savior to supplement the specific skills shortage in Australia.

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