Annual Jobs and Skills Report: Implications for Clubs

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Earlier this month, Jobs and Skills Australia released their Annual Jobs and Skills Report, which identifies Australia’s current, emerging, and future skills needs. The Commonwealth Government aims to collaborate with state and territory governments, industry, and education providers to support future policy development.

It is no secret that the club industry is experiencing persistent skills shortages, particularly hiring chefs and cooks. These shortages are exacerbated by the perceived ‘attractiveness’ of the job and low completion rates of food trade apprentices.

What findings are relevant to the club industry?

Chefs have been categorised as one of the top twenty occupations experiencing persistent skills shortages across Australia. Within the top twenty, chefs rank among the five most significant non-construction trade professions in shortage.

Chefs fall under the ‘retention gap shortage’ category, indicating they change jobs more frequently than the ‘norm’. This is potentially reinforced by the limited number of applicants per job vacancy.

To address this issue, the Report has suggested exploring ways to improve the overall ‘attractiveness’ of food preparation roles. Many aspiring apprentices or workers hold reservations about pursuing a culinary career, primarily due to the demanding and unsociable work hours. However, culinary trainees have a high chance of attaining a permanent position upon completing their apprenticeship.

What does this mean for clubs?

The Commonwealth Government is working with state governments to develop a roadmap for achieving a more effective national jobs and skills system, which would include the following:

Identifying system pressures and drivers
System reform
System implementation
System monitoring and feedback.

Consultation with stakeholders, system analysis, and policy development has already commenced.

Identifying the biggest challenges and issues will ensure Commonwealth can lead a more streamlined and responsive approach to addressing skills shortages. It is important the system can adjust more flexibility to the evolving needs of the club industry.

ClubsNSW through Clubs Australia is a member of SkillsEQuipped, one of the Jobs and Skills Councils, that identify, forecast, and respond to the current and emerging workforce challenges. ClubsNSW has been working with SkillsEQuipped to identify opportunities to tackle the skills shortage in the hospitality sector.

ClubsNSW will continue to work collaboratively with the NSW Government and Commonwealth to address skills shortages. This includes participating in the current review of the NSW VET system.