A shortage of staff with skilled labour is still hurting local business and industries across the country with the health, construction and hospitality sectors some of the hardest hit.
The Australian Government’s Jobs and Skills Australia Skills Shortage Quarterly March 2023 shows that with largely unchanged numbers of total, qualified and suitable applicants per job vacancy, the uplift in the fill rate in the current quarter may be due to employers lowering their requirements to fill vacancies.
This may be an indication that overall labour market conditions are still tight.
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics support this, with employment growth being driven by an increase in full-time jobs and unemployment steady at 3.5%.
In the health sector, ageing populations, growing regional communities and an exhausted workforce are among the factors contributing to a chronic nurse shortage in regional and rural Australia.
With regional hospitals experiencing high workloads and funding pressures, additional staff supports for early career nurses may not be the highest priority.
Modelling suggests Australia could be short of 123,000 nurses by 2030. The current and forecasted shortage hits hardest in rural and regional areas – an issue the current National Nursing Workforce Strategy is addressing as one of its four key priorities.
Yarrawonga Medical Clinic Owner and General Practioner (GP) Dr Ayon Guha said that issues with delivering rural/regional health care as a GP is currently being affected by shortages on many fronts.
“In terms of a doctor shortage, general practice has remained unattractive for young doctors for many years now mainly due to the fact that a specialist job is more glamorous and better paid,” Dy Ayon said.
“Moving to regional/rural areas is not for every doctor: lifestyle; family commitments; worries about schooling for children; now the housing crisis however things are changing on this front.
“It will probably take another ten odd years to find a balance but young doctors are realising that being a GP is also glamorous and contributes immensely to patients wellbeing and health especially in regional/rural areas.”
Dr Ayon said finding nursing staff for general practice is even more difficult as many nurses have retired post COVID as they were exhausted by the workload over the last three to four years.
“In terms of nursing it is very acute,” Ayon said.
“My guess is that this will need a long time to even out, maybe getting overseas trained nurses is an option.
“There was also quite a shortage in certain supplies, medical equipment, wound dressings but in recent days it is evening out.
“Overall I think COVID, national and international issues have played out a very tough outlook for the foreseeable future.
“We can only hope that sanity in governance remains and some common sense is applied in making decisions by powers to be.”
Yarrawonga Health Interim Chief Executive Officer Frank Evans said that through COVID and now as we are moving into what some call COVID normal, larger health services including the hospital have experienced difficulty filling clinical and aged care rosters.
“The biggest impact has related to the number of staff being sick, at any one time, and the need for staff to isolate,” Mr Evans said.
“We continue to have staff contract COVID or other respiratory illnesses, from time to time, though not as many or as often and hence it is now easier to manage.
“Like all other health services we (Yarrawonga Health) have also had to cope with a higher than usual staff turnover due to the impact of COVID on our staff.
“Our recruitment efforts have been very successful to date and these efforts continue.
“Our clinical and aged care services are fully operational and our dependence on agency staff for nurses and aged care workers is now minimal compared to the peak of the virus.”
For the construction industry, according to the 2022 Arcadis Construction Costs Index Report, specialised and skilled worker vacancies have risen by 80% since late 2019.
This report forecasts that by late 2023 there will be more than 100,000 unfilled roles in the industry.
Hadar Managing Director Rick Leeworthy said that due to the housing boom over the COVID years, the construction industry continues to struggle with a skilled shortage and those wanting to join the industry.
“The cost of new home construction has risen sharply due to several factors following the pandemic,” Mr Leeworthy said.
“Although the new home market is softening, home ownership is becoming out of reach for many due to the substantial increase in land, construction costs, interest rates and the cost of living.
“Shortages of skilled labour have persisted in hampering the building industry for much of the last three years.
“The pandemic added to this problem by denying access to overseas labour and leading to an unprecedented increase in demand for homes. Supply chain disruptions through the pandemic also added to the cost of construction.
“Yarrawonga is still struggling with a skilled shortage in the building industry due to the housing boom of the last few years and the sheer size of the current pipeline of sales still to be started.”
Currently, and stemming from the COVID pandemic, ongoing staff shortages still remain the biggest problem in hospitality.
While the hospitality sector is expected to grow in coming years, it remains hindered by the lack of skilled workers, particularly in chef and kitchen positions.
In a ‘Labour Market Update Report’ conducted by the Australian Government, chefs were listed as number eight in the top 20 occupations in demand nationally.
The entire nation is facing major staffing challenges in hospitality, especially in recruiting for skilled roles such as chefs.
The shortage in skilled visas being allowed has also hindered the problem and led to an increased demand for local workers for a limited pool of talent, and higher turnover rates.
Mulwala Water Ski Club CEO Peter Duncan said the club was going along strong however staff availability is not like it used to be.
“We used to have people knocking down our doors trying to get a job whereas now we almost have to knock on their door to get them,” Mr Duncan said.
“Leading into summer we need to maintain the staff we have and attract a few more. We are always looking for staff.
“In the current climate, attracting skilled staff has been as issue that it never was in the past.
“When COVID hit, hospitality was one of the hardest hit industries and while it has bounced back greatly in the past eighteen months or so, there are still skilled worker shortages.”