Workforce shortages are among the issues most consistently raised by industry in discussion with post-harvest seafood jobs skills council, Skills Insight.
Jobs skills councils, such as Skills Insight, are critical pathways to workforce policy development within government.
Industries that Skills Insight supports, which includes employers, workers, industry associations, unions and training providers, continue to report difficulties attracting, retaining and developing the workforce they need.
While shortages are widely recognised, the reasons behind them are less clear.
- In some occupations there are not enough applicants.
- In others, applicants are available but lack the experience, qualifications, licences or work readiness employers require.
- In many industries, regional locations, housing availability, seasonal operations, workforce ageing, training access, changing skill requirements and occupational visibility all contribute to workforce pressures.
- In some, migration rules make accessing overseas workers expensive, time consuming, while international experience and training may not be recognised in Australia.
These differences matter because the same response will not work for every sector of industry that has a shortage.
Skills Insight is undertaking industry consultation to build evidence on:
- which shortages and emerging vulnerabilities matter most;
- the shared, industry-specific and place-based factors driving them;
- their consequences; and
- the responses most likely to make a difference.
This will help strengthen outcomes for stakeholders by moving beyond the identification of shortages to diagnose their causes, so responses can be better matched to the needs of particular occupations, industries and places.
Timeline
Consultation through the feedback hub is now open and closes on Friday 6 November 2026.
You can share your thoughts here.
After this date you can continue to provide evidence and feedback on occupation shortages to our Industry Engagement Managers and by emailing [email protected].
Further consultation may include interviews, workshops, webinars and online discussions.
To find out more, visit Skills Insight.