Manufacturing workforce plan to deliver future workforce






The Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance Jobs and Skills Council has released the 2024 Manufacturing Workforce Plan, highlighting the opportunities the sector presents to jobseekers and the country.

The plan is a roadmap outlining the key skills and emerging workforce needs for manufacturing.

With projected employment growth equivalent to around 120,000 additional workers – up by 16.8 percent – by the year 2033, the plan is designed to build the capacity of the manufacturing workforce in Australia.

The plan also highlights sectors with the greatest opportunities for growth, development and expansion including the the defence, clean energy, medical and space sectors, and the urgent need for skilled workers.

Manufacturing Alliance CEO Sharon Robertson said: “The 2024 Workforce Plan is a step forward in addressing the pressing workforce shortages in Australia’s manufacturing industry.

“Our aim is to not only fill the existing gaps but to build a resilient and skilled workforce that can drive the industry forward.”

The plan identified issues around apprenticeship attraction and completions, outdated images of manufacturing as a low-value sector, a lack of diversity in the workforce and an ageing workforce and succession planning.

Challenges identified with advanced manufacturing sectors include:

  • Advanced manufacturing requires future focused skills
  • Digital proficiency is key to leveraging opportunities
  • Demand is increasing for emerging skills
  • Net zero and clean energy initiatives are creating opportunities
  • And more focus is needed on defence, medical, pharmaceutical and space technologies.

Five occupations were identified as in greatest shortage – bakers and pastrycooks, plastics and rubber machine operators, boatbuilders and shipwrights, mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians and other building and engineering technicians.

Robertson said: “We are committed to delivering tangible solutions that address the skills and workforce challenges faced by the manufacturing industry.

“By focusing on practical, actionable strategies we are building priority actions that can offer solutions to supply side skill shortages.”

Picture: Sharon Robertson



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