Australia is facing "staggering" skills shortages, according to a new National Skills Commission report, which shows occupation shortages doubled in 2022 as the labour market tightened.
The number of occupations struggling to fill positions has jumped from 153 to 286 over the year, meaning nearly a third of all Australian sectors are confronting serious worker shortfalls.
The Skills Priority List shows registered nurses, software engineers, and care workers are in most demand, with construction managers, childcare workers and motor mechanics also near the top.
Job vacancies have grown more than 40 per cent in the year to August 2022, reaching 309,000 jobs, according to the report.
Of the 20 largest employing occupations, more than half face serious labour shortages.
Occupations with the largest number of vacancies included technicians, professionals, machinery operators and labourers, as well as community and personal service workers.
The federal government said Australia's skills shortages were the second highest in the OECD.
Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic
The quarterly average to June 2022 shows registered nurses were by far the most in demand, with 9,266 jobs vacant.
This follows a broader trend among other health professionals, such as general practitioners.
Demand for the health professional cohort increased by nearly 50 per cent in 2022, the largest increase of any sub-employment group.
"The result appears mostly driven by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic," the report said.
It said the "Health and Social Assistance industry accounted for the largest share of people who changed jobs" in the year to February 2022, at more than 12 per cent.
The report names burnout as a key factor.
It quotes a survey showing more than 20 per cent of frontline healthcare workers increased their unpaid hours at the peak of the pandemic.
"Over 70 per cent of healthcare workers experienced moderate to severe burnout," the report said.
The commission predicts things could get worse. As the country's population ages, there will be high demand for health professionals.
Shortages 'persistent'
Of the broader sector groups, technicians, trade workers and professionals had the most shortages as a proportion of the workforce.
Nearly 50 per cent of trade and technician jobs were in shortage in 2022. For professionals, it was about 40 per cent.
The commission said shortages in both had been persistent over time, suggesting Australia's tightening job market was not the only explanation.
It said service industries, including professional, technical and scientific, health care and education, were among Australia's fastest-growing industries, adding to demand.
Failure to identify shortages
Jobs and Skills Minister Brendan O'Connor said though the pandemic exacerbated issues, shortages existed prior.
"We've failed to identify existing shortages and forecast areas of demand in the labour market," he said.
"The staggering jump in occupations listed reinforces the urgent need to tackle skills shortages."
The federal government has said it will establish a new agency, Jobs and Skills Australia, to fix the problem.
"We need to invest more in our own workforce and prospective workforce, invest in TAFE, invest in universities, invest in schools so that we have the skills necessary to fill the existing gaps and those future shortages that will happen if we don't attend to it," Mr O'Connor said.
Earlier this year, the government also announced it would make 180,000 more TAFE places free.
Mr O'Connor said he would not rule out a number of further measures, including making more tertiary qualifications free, if necessary.
"I think everything has to be on the table when it comes to supplying the skills and labour we need."
Mr O'Connor also criticised the former government's migration settings, saying they had hamstrung attempts to plug shortages.
His government announced an increase to Australia's permanent migration cap by 35,000 earlier this year.
"We are a very attractive destination but there are other attractive destinations and there are a lot of countries, for example, that do offer you know, do offer some, you know, permanent skilled migration pathways, not just temporary visas."
