Skill shortages across the Hunter are at crisis levels, with no industry or sector spared, a summit called to address what has emerged as a major threat to the region's growth has heard.
The results of Business NSW's June 2022 workforce skills survey, which were presented on day one of the Powering Business 2050: Emerging Industries and the Future of Work summit, show 93 per cent of businesses reported being affected by skills shortages.
The figure is significantly higher than the 73 per cent in 2021, 55 per cent in 2019 and 59 per cent in 2017.
"We still have almost $120 billion of government-funded infrastructure projects in NSW as well as a very significant push into renewable energies like solar and wind farms. There's lots of investment flowing into NSW and the Hunter but lots of people are not. The issue here is that basic," Business NSW executive director of policy and advocacy David Harding said.
"We are growing skills quickly, we see universities and TAFE targeting those skills credentials and microcredentials but we are in a lag position - the economy has bounced back from COVID and investment remains high, recession seems a long way away, but costs are high, people are expensive, people are scarce and therefore we have a skills shortage."
Fifty one per cent of businesses with a shortage of skilled staff reported that it had resulted in significant negative impacts such as losing customers and missing opportunities.
The crisis was also having impacts on existing workers - 79 per cent of businesses reported an increased workload for existing staff, 47 per cent reported they had increased wages, salaries or bonus for existing staff as a method for addressing the skills shortage in the last 12 months.
The reasons for the skills shortages varied between regions and industries but some common themes emerged. Twenty six per cent of businesses reported that they had no applications for vacant positions.
Forty per cent of businesses reported that it was as difficult to fill entry-level positions as experienced positions. A further nine per cent of respondents reported that it was more difficult to fill entry-level positions than experienced positions.
Among the challenges, particularly in regional areas, was housing. More than a third of respondents identified housing as a key long-term challenge facing business. Many respondents identified the need for more affordable housing and limits on the number of properties used as temporary holiday rentals to help address workforce shortages.
Mr Harding said governments and business urgently needed to increase initiatives to increase female participation, which lags significantly behind male participation.
"That is almost a gimme for the economy, it's a gimme for businesses. Make life easier for women to return to work, make life easier for women to stay at work, make life safer and equitable for women to be in work," he said.
While international borders have reopened, skilled migrants, working holiday makers and international students have not returned in the numbers that had been hoped.
"Making the migration system easier for businesses to navigate, ensuring that visa applications are processed promptly, and urgently and proactively attracting more people to come and work in NSW are all important parts of the solution," the Business NSW report says.
Day 2 of the Powering Business 2050 summit will be held at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday.
