The 2022 workforce update from the soon-to-be-disbanded National Skills Commission has again left a number of print-related occupations out of the Skills Priority List with print finishing and screen printing the only print industry occupations listed as being in a worker shortage.
The Real Media Collective & The Print & Visual Communication Association are looking to change this with GM – Policy, IR and Governance, Charles Watson, saying the methodology used to determine what occupations are experiencing a worker shortage was not consultative enough.
Watson says the TRMC/PVCA will meet with Jobs and Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor in November to voice the industry’s concerns on vocational training and apprentice support for print.
The association will also press for more consultation with the new body, Jobs and Skills Australia, which has been named to replace the National Skills Commission.
“It is certainly something we are not happy with and we have not been happy with the government’s response to our overtures and submissions,” Watson said of the print-related occupations being left out of the skills list.
“The National Skills Commission is going to be replaced by Jobs and Skills Australia and we are hoping to be working a lot more closely with them. We’ve been pretty critical about the methodology that the National Skills Commission used to determine which skills are in high demand or low demand. To my way of thinking the National Skills Commission utilised jobs that were advertised online and that isn’t the best way of finding out what is in need and what isn’t.
“We are going to be sitting down with Minister O’Connor in November to try and put some industry viewpoints forward as far as how Jobs and Skills Australia should operate and that it should have a lot more industry consultation.
“They certainly didn’t consult, they said they did but the level of consultation was questionable.”
2022 Skills Priority List – National Skills Commission
This year’s report found occupation shortages were most acute in professional occupations, requiring higher level qualifications and experience, and Skill Level 3 occupations among technicians and trades workers.
It also found the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 per cent in July 2022 – the lowest rate recorded since August 1974 – while the demand for workers has increased rapidly over the last two years to 2022.
The report found that in 2022, 286 out of 914 (31 per cent) of occupations assessed were in shortage, compared to 153 out of 799 (19 per cent) in 2021. The remaining 628 occupations were rated nationally as ‘no shortage’, and this is the group that print machinest, small offset printer, printer’s assistant and printing table worker fell into, according to the report. Screen printing and print finishing where noted as in a shortage nationally and in each state, except for Western Australia. The full report can be viewed here.
Exclusion from this list means employers looking to take on apprentices and/or trainees in occupations deemed to not be in a shortage are unable to access federal government financial support.
Ai Group CEO Innes Willox said the latest release from the National Skills Commission reflects the skilling and recruitment challenges that employers are experiencing on a daily basis.
“Of specific concern, 47 per cent of all trade and technician occupations are in shortage, up from 42 percent at the same time last year. The ongoing shortage of trade and technician workers has bedevilled companies’ capacity to undertake or complete a range of projects as well as business as usual activities,” Willox said.
“The expansion of trade and technician occupations on the priority list will facilitate increased access to apprentice incentives. This is welcome, but only a small step towards the much-needed overhaul of the apprentice incentive system.
For previous stories following the Jobs Summit and push for vocational training in print, click here.
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