National Skills Commission Archive

The Skills Priority List (SPL) provides a detailed view of occupations in shortage, nationally, and by state and territory, as well as the future demand for occupations in Australia. The list is a single source of intelligence on occupations in shortage. While the SPL helps inform advice on the targeting of policy initiatives it is important to note it is not the only input into any such advice.

2022

Job Openings and Replacement Rates by Occupation

The National Skills Commission produced employment projections to provide a guide to the likely future direction of the jobs market over the next five years. However, net change in employment is considerably lower than the number of jobs that will become available over the five-year projection period. Even if an occupation is projected to decline in employment, many job vacancies will still exist over the corresponding period.

In order to quantify the number of opportunities available in the labour market for a given occupation, the National Skills Commission used data from the ABS Participation, Job Search and Labour Mobility (PJSM) supplementary survey to create occupational replacement rates, which estimate the share of employment in an occupation that will be replaced within a given year. These estimated replacement rates can provide insight into the labour market in a variety of ways explored in this paper.

Employment Projections

The National Skills Commission (NSC) Employment Projections provide a guide to the likely direction of the jobs market over a five-year period.

Each year these projections are updated to reflect emerging trends and developments.

Emerging Occupations

The National Skills Commission developed a data-driven approach to identify emerging occupations within Australia. By identifying emerging skills and looking at how these skills change existing jobs, we can identify emerging or new jobs in the labour market, and can help build the skilled, resilient and adaptable workforce we need now, and for years to come.

Care Workforce Labour Market Study

The study comes against a backdrop of a rapid rise in the number of care and support workers in recent years and represents the first ‘whole of sector’ examination of the care and support workforce. It considers the needs of the care and support workforce, in relation to aged, disability, veteran and mental health, both in the near term and longer term to 2050.

Digital skills in the Australian and International economies

This paper provides an analysis of digital skills in the Australian and International economies using a mix of data sources and analysis techniques. The first part of the analysis addresses key questions about definitions, utilisation, and employer demand for digital skills across the Australian labour market. The second part of the analysis addresses key questions about how digital engagement in Australia compares to Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States

The shape of Australia's post COVID-19 workforce

The shape of Australia's post COVID-19 workforce builds on the understanding of Australia’s workforce and skills recovery from COVID-19. The report analyses the impact of the pandemic on our labour market, through scenario modelling, and profiles our resilient occupations framework.

While it is clear COVID-19 has changed how we do business and work, the latest ABS data show signs that the labour market is recovering. This is supported by the National Skills Commission’s own monitoring of internet vacancies and our own employer surveys.