8 th BITRE Transport Colloquium Meeting Skills Gaps in Australia’s Transport Industries Presenter: Ivan Neville Branch Manager, Labour Supply and Skills Branch Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Labour Market Overview Australia  The Australian labour market has strengthened significantly over the last ten years  Strong employment growth  Unemployment rate at lowest levels in over 30 years  Labour Force Participation rate 65.4%  Ageing population  Skills shortages evident across most occupations and industries Source: ABS 6202 Labour Force Survey, Feb 2003, 2008 and April 2008, 2001 and Census 2006

Transport sector overview  Solid employment growth over the last decade  Largest growth in Water Transport, Services to Transport and Road Transport sectors  Fall in Rail Transport  Around people employed in total  Large growth in female employment  Ageing workforce  45.7 per cent of the workforce are aged 45 years and over Source: ABS 6291 Labour Force Survey, February 2008, ABS 2006 Census of Population and Housing, August 2006

Transport and Storage Sectors – Projected Employment Growth (% pa) to Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, (DEEWR Trend Data); DEEWR projections

 High levels of recruitment activity  9.6% of vacancies unfilled in the last 12 months  Recruitment difficulties were frequently reported due to:  Technical skills required;  Licensing or registration required; and  The nature of the work  High levels of recruitment and difficulty expected in the next 12 months Regional survey findings: Transport employers Source: DEEWR, Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences, March 2008

 11.9% of vacancies unfilled in the last 12 months  Difficulty recruiting reported by many businesses  Significant difficulties in some sectors  Difficulties mainly due to:  Tight labour market conditions;  Endorsement for specific aircraft; and  Movement of pilots to other major airlines  Recruitment difficulties anticipated over the next 12 months Aircraft Pilot survey Source: DEEWR, Aircraft Pilots: Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences, November 2007 DEEWR, Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences, December 2007

 8.5% of vacancies unfilled in the last 12 months  High levels of recruitment difficulty reported for some types of driving vacancies, particularly those jobs:  with high licensing requirements;  requiring physically demanding work;  located in WA, or  within a small business. Source: DEEWR, Truck Drivers - Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences, December 2007 DEEWR, Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences, December 2007 Truck Drivers survey

 In progress:  Logistics  Proposed:  Maritime Transport and Storage industry Work in progress