Ai Group’s Centre for Education and Training (CET) has released survey data showing that technicians and trades workers are in high demand, and increasingly hard to find.

Out of all businesses surveyed, 77% reported an increased need for these skills, and 79% said they were having difficulty finding or training staff to meet this need.

Businesses also reported an increased demand for managers and professionals but are finding them slightly easier to source. Around 69% of the businesses surveyed reported an increased need for managers, with 58% having difficulty finding or training staff to meet this need. Additionally, 66% reported an increased skill need in relation to professionals, with 61% having difficulty finding or training to meet this need.

The data also shows that demand for technicians and trades workers is rising over time. When we surveyed businesses in 2020, 49% reported an increased need for technicians and trades skills. This rose to 69% in 2022 and then to 77% this year. The proportion of businesses having difficulty finding or training technicians and trades workers has increased from 39% of those surveyed in 2020 to 79% in 2024.

“Australian businesses are telling us they are struggling to find the technical and trades skills they need, and over recent years it has become a problem for more and more companies,” Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox says.

“Not being able to find the right people at the right time limits the ability of businesses to meet demand, grow and innovate and this has negative consequences for our economy.”

When Ai Group asked businesses what actions they planned to take to meet their skill needs over the next 12 months, 77% said they would be re-skilling existing staff on the job and 63% said they would employ experienced people.

There is a strong desire to take on entry-level workers, with 37% planning to increase the number of apprentices/trainees they employ in the coming year.

These findings are from Ai Group’s CET survey, Listening to Australian businesses on workforce and skills 2024. The survey is run every two years.

This year, the survey had responses from 251 individual businesses, collectively employing a total of 291,232 FTE employees.