EMPLOYERS are crying out for skilled workers, according to a NSW Business Chamber survey.
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More than 35 per cent of businesses in the New England region are unable to find suitably qualified staff.
Australian Apprenticeship Support Network regional manager Peter Rickard said employers are struggling to keep up with business growth.
“We’re getting communication from employers that they are frustrated they can’t find the people with the skills they need to run their business,” Mr Rickard said.
“In vocational work, almost any person who is keen will get the job they are chasing.”
We’re getting communication from employers that they are frustrated they can’t find the people with the skills they need to run their business.
- Peter Rickard.
And, with vocational training employment rates higher than that of university graduates it’s quickly becoming a popular pathway.
Vocational students also enter the workforce without a HECS debt.
Mr Rickard said university towns like Armidale can struggle to produce skilled labour workers.
“In university towns like Armidale and Bathurst, parents tend to think that the university pathway is best, but in other towns like Tamworth and Orange the vocational pathways have a stronger uptake,” he said.
“Gradually in university towns, vocational education is gaining momentum because the opportunities for work and higher income are better.”
In regional Australia, the biggest skills shortages are in optometry, midwifery, registered nurses and radiocommunication technicians.
Armidale Business Chamber president Susan Cull said the survey undertaken by the NSW Business Chamber highlights the importance of training youth for jobs.
“Not only for the here and now, but for the jobs of the future in an ever increasing global digital world,” she said.
“The remodelled TAFE system which then delivers high quality and industry relevant training is then vital.”