VET News

2022 Priority Skills List Reveals Occupations in Demand

The National Skills Commission’s 2022 Skills Priority List (SPL) has been released and is now available as a digital interface that allows people to filter and search for jobs that are in high demand.

The SPL is released annually and identifies occupations in Australia that are in short supply while also providing an assessment of future demand.

This year’s list reveals shortages in 286 occupations, compared to 153 in 2021. The number of jobs advertised reached 309,900 in August 2022, which is a 42 per cent increase from August 2021.

Employees that are in high demand are primarily healthcare professionals and teachers. However, a list of the top 20 occupations (based on both current shortages and projected future employment growth) also shows that there are shortages in the information technology and construction sectors.

The top 20 occupations in demand (based on a combination of skills shortages, current job vacancies, and projected employment growth over the next five years, are:

1. Registered Nurses - 9,266
2. Software and Applications Programmers - 7,841
3. Aged and Disabled Carers - 5,101
4. Construction Managers - 4,984
5. Child Carers - 4,549
6. Motor Mechanics - 4,316
7. Retail Managers - 4,244
8. Chefs - 4,141
9. ICT Business and Systems Analysis - 3,830
10. Metal Fitters and Machinists - 3,565
11. Cooks - 3, 438
12. Electricians - 3,396
13. Civil Engineering Professionals - 3,268
14. Contract, Program and Project Administrators - 2,842
15. General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers - 2,306
16. Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers - 2,253
17. Physiotherapists - 1,482
18. Mining Engineers - 1,048
19. Gardeners - 1,038
20. Auditors, Company Secretaries and corporate Treasurers - 868

• Access the Skills Priority List Digital Interface here.
• Download the 2022 Skills Priority List Key Findings Report here.
• See full Ministers' Media Centre Release here. 

Date posted Oct 13, 2022