Latest news with #skillsgap
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
The AI-proof jobs that will be in high demand in Australia
White collar jobs typically paying six-figures salaries are expected to be in short supply by 2030 despite quantum advances in artificial intelligence. The Future Skills Organisation predicted accountants, financial advisers, IT managers, chief executives and bank workers would have the biggest skills gap within five years, even though AI promises to do many thought-based, analytical tasks. These jobs have average taxable incomes in the six figures, or at least close to it, and are expected to be in even more demand despite rapid technological advances with large language models. 'Australia faces a projected shortfall of almost 250,000 skilled workers across finance, technology, and business by 2030,' the Future Skills Organisation said in its Workforce Plan 2025. 'The education and training pipeline is not yet delivering the volume or alignment needed. 'Australia's technology workforce is expanding rapidly, even amid global layoffs - because businesses increasingly rely on digital capabilities, the professionals who deliver them, and the infrastructure that supports them.' Australia was expected to need 221,400 accountants by 2030, but only 215,400 are forecast to be available - a gap of 6,000. Accountants are still highly paid, having an average taxable income of $127,000 for management accountants and $99,736 for tax accountants, new tax office data for 2022-23 revealed. IT managers were expected to be in short supply, by 16,300 in five years from now, with 130,300 needed from an available pool of 114,000, in a job typically paying $167,154. Australians now need to earn more than $400,000 a year to be among the top one per cent of income earners, with ophthalmologist eye surgeons having the highest tax income of $643,389, ahead of neurosurgeons on $611,754, and plastic and reconstructive surgeons on $595,969. Broadly speaking, only surgeons on taxable incomes of $472,475 and anaethetists on $447,193 made the top one per cent. Just 125,771 Australians earned at least $408,974 - putting them among the top 0.8 per cent of 16.1million income taxpayers. The top ten occupations have average salaries above $192,000 - a level more than double the average salary of $73,612. This list also included finance dealers ($355,233), internal medicine specialists ($342,457), psychiatrists ($280,146), other medical practitioners ($259,802), mining engineers ($206,423), judges or legal professionals ($206,408) and chief executives ($194,987). The shortfall of CEOs was expected to grow to 7,900, with 61,500 needed from a pool of 53,600. At the other end of the spectrum, waiters had the lowest average income of $28,885, with many working part-time or casual roles. Not all the jobs expected to be in short supply are well-paid now. The Future Skills Organisation expected bookkeepers to be in short supply by 27,100, with 98,700 needed from a labour supply of 71,600, but this professional only has a taxable income of $61,374. Accounting clerks were tipped to have a labour shortage of 26,000 positions, with 145,800 needed from a pool of 119,800, despite having a lowly pay of $71,630. Receptionists were also predicted to have in demand, a 15,300 gap between the 193,500 needed and the 178,200 available, for a job typically paying just $44,373.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
The AI-proof jobs that will be in high demand in five years - and they pay six-figures
White collar jobs typically paying six-figures salaries are expected to be in short supply by 2030 despite quantum advances in artificial intelligence. The Future Skills Organisation predicted accountants, financial advisers, IT managers, chief executives and bank workers would have the biggest skills gap within five years, even though AI promises to do many thought-based, analytical tasks. These jobs have average taxable incomes in the six figures, or at least close to it, and are expected to be in even more demand despite rapid technological advances with large language models. 'Australia faces a projected shortfall of almost 250,000 skilled workers across finance, technology, and business by 2030,' the Future Skills Organisation said in its Workforce Plan 2025. 'The education and training pipeline is not yet delivering the volume or alignment needed. 'Australia's technology workforce is expanding rapidly, even amid global layoffs - because businesses increasingly rely on digital capabilities, the professionals who deliver them, and the infrastructure that supports them.' Australia was expected to need 221,400 accountants by 2030, but only 215,400 are forecast to be available - a gap of 6,000. Accountants are still highly paid, having an average taxable income of $127,000 for management accountants and $99,736 for tax accountants, new tax office data for 2022-23 revealed. IT managers were expected to be in short supply, by 16,300 in five years from now, with 130,300 needed from an available pool of 114,000, in a job typically paying $167,154. 'Technological changes across finance, technology and business are rapid, and without mechanisms to uplift educator knowledge and practice, learners will continue to graduate misaligned to job requirements,' the Workforce Plan 2025 read. Bank workers were still expected to be in short supply by 5,300, with 48,500 needed from a labour pool of 43,200, despite branch closures accelerating since more customers did their banking online. Bank tellers typically make $98,058 a year. Highly-paid financial investment advisers and managers were also expected to be short by 5,900 positions, with a labour supply of 63,300 failing to keep pace with the 69,200 needed. Financial advisers typically earned an average, taxable income of $143,484, rising to $371,566 for financial investment managers. The broad category of financial advisers typically earned $191,986, making it Australia's tenth best paid profession. Australians now need to earn more than $400,000 a year to be among the top one per cent of income earners, with ophthalmologist eye surgeons having the highest tax income of $643,389, ahead of neurosurgeons on $611,754, and plastic and reconstructive surgeons on $595,969. Broadly speaking, only surgeons on taxable incomes of $472,475 and anaethetists on $447,193 made the top one per cent. Just 125,771 Australians earned at least $408,974 - putting them among the top 0.8 per cent of 16.1million income taxpayers. The top ten occupations have average salaries above $192,000 - a level more than double the average salary of $73,612. This list also included finance dealers ($355,233), internal medicine specialists ($342,457), psychiatrists ($280,146), other medical practitioners ($259,802), mining engineers ($206,423), judges or legal professionals ($206,408) and chief executives ($194,987). The shortfall of CEOs was expected to grow to 7,900, with 61,500 needed from a pool of 53,600. At the other end of the spectrum, waiters had the lowest average income of $28,885, with many working part-time or casual roles. Not all the jobs expected to be in short supply are well-paid now. The Future Skills Organisation expected bookkeepers to be in short supply by 27,100, with 98,700 needed from a labour supply of 71,600, but this professional only has a taxable income of $61,374. Accounting clerks were tipped to have a labour shortage of 26,000 positions, with 145,800 needed from a pool of 119,800, despite having a lower pay of $71,630. Receptionists were also predicted to have in demand, a 15,300 gap between the 193,500 needed and the 178,200 available, for a job typically paying just $44,373.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Government told to set out plan to tackle ‘significant challenges' with T-levels
The Government's technical qualifications could remain a 'minority pursuit' without action to enrol more students and raise awareness among employers, MPs have warned. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called on the Government to set out its plan to tackle the 'significant challenges' that remain with rolling out post-16 T-level qualifications in England. T-levels have a 'critical role' to play in providing young people with the skills needed to address vital skills gaps across the economy, according to the report from the cross-party group of MPs. But it added that the 'success' and value for money of T-levels relies on increasing student numbers. The first T-levels were introduced in September 2020 to help meet the needs of industry and prepare students for work. The two-year courses, which are considered to be broadly equivalent to three A-levels, are being gradually rolled out in England. But the PAC report said only half of Year 9 to 11 students had heard of T-levels in 2023, and only a third of employers, who offer industry placements required to finish the T-level, are aware of them. The Department for Education's (DfE) latest forecast of 66,100 T-level starters in September 2029 is significantly more than the 25,508 students who started the qualification in September 2024, it added. The PAC also found that women and disadvantaged students are underrepresented in some T-level courses such as engineering. The MPs have called on the DfE to develop a structured plan, within six months, setting out its 'campaign approach' to increasing student awareness and enrolments in T-levels. The DfE should address how the curriculum can be tailored to appeal to a diverse student group while meeting employers' needs, they added. The PAC report warns that it has been 'unclear' to students, teachers and colleges how T-levels fit alongside other technical qualifications. It comes after the Government announced plans in December to scrap more than 200 vocational qualifications that had either no enrolments, or fewer than 100 per year over the last three years. As part of the review of post-16 qualifications, the Government said it will keep about 70% of vocational courses, including BTecs, which the previous Conservative administration had announced it would cut. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the committee, said: 'T-levels have the potential to be a significant force for good in equipping young people with everything they need for their burgeoning careers. 'But without the wider awareness in industry and critical mass of student enrolments, T-levels may remain very much a minority pursuit, when they could become a natural and enriching step in many students' lives.' He added: 'Government must enter campaign mode to inject life into T-Levels to build enrolments, focusing in and capitalising on local employment needs.' Department for Education spokesperson said: 'Through our Plan for Change, this government is cementing 120,000 new training opportunities for young people in key sectors such as construction, engineering, health & social care and digital, and we are encouraged by the strong growth in awareness, uptake and positive outcomes from T Levels. 'Our recent moves to slash red tape will help support T-Levels as a high-class vocational qualification, ensuring they provide a strong, hands-on experience for students, and high-quality training opportunities to build a workforce fit for the future. 'We will consider the recommendations of the PAC carefully, to help continue to increase the number of young people benefitting from these qualifications, and set out our response in due course.'
Telegraph
22-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Britain's defeatist attitude ‘has led to reliance on foreign labour'
A 'defeatist' attitude to getting young people into work has left Britain over-reliant on foreign labour, the Business Secretary has said. Jonathan Reynolds hits out at the 'casual' approach taken to packing key sectors such as healthcare, construction and manufacturing with imported workers. In an interview with The Telegraph, he says the UK is 'vulnerable' to global events because 'tremendous skills gaps' have opened up in the domestic workforce. His intervention comes as Labour prepares to publish plans on Monday on how to boost the number of young Britons taking up jobs in areas like defence. Mr Reynolds will publish a 10-year blueprint to train up thousands more school leavers and 'end the over-reliance on foreign labour' in the economy. It comes after new analysis from Oxford University's Migration Observatory showed the proportion of migrant employees in the UK has risen from 12 per cent a decade ago to just under one in five now. At the same time, the number of young Britons who are not in employment, education or training (Neet) has risen sharply to one in seven. The Business Secretary said that the Neet statistic was 'appalling' and that people too often felt that skilled jobs had 'not been available to them and their children'. 'If on key areas the argument is 'we just have to import talent in that sector, we can't train people, we haven't got the money, we haven't got the capacity', I think that's too defeatist and we've got to address that,' he said. 'We cannot have a vibrant, diverse economy, we cannot have a very strong manufacturing base, unless we've got the skills for it and that's why we can't be casual about just importing that.' Monday's industrial strategy announcement will include plans to open a new generation of technical colleges and fund 'cutting-edge' courses in defence and engineering. It will also set out how the Government plans to be more interventionist, 'rather than leaving industry to fend for itself and let the markets decide'. Mr Reynolds said it will help 'ensure British workers can secure good, well-paid jobs in the industries of tomorrow'. He acknowledged that the historically high level of net migration over recent years 'doesn't have public consent' and has created a 'lot of anger'. It was important to remain 'very pro talent coming to the UK' but also ensure migration was 'not the only way we're meeting those skills needs', he added. 'If you think about the tremendous gaps we've got in the skills pipeline in construction, in engineering, defence, that's the reason why the wider sectors that we've picked for the strategy have these packages in there. 'We are vulnerable when the whole world wants these things. I feel previous governments have assumed it doesn't matter if we make anything in the UK – I think that's wrong.' Mr Reynolds said that 'the country has failed' the almost one million 16 to 24-year-olds who are currently classed as Neet. There is 'not just an economic argument' but 'a moral one as well', he said, adding that 'it's a tragedy' if people aren't getting the right opportunities. He backed the proposed £5 billion cuts to benefits, over which No 10 is facing a big Labour rebellion, arguing that 'we've got to be addressing these issues'. 'No young person, unless they obviously have a significant disability or are genuinely not in a position to work, should be choosing or [be] in a position where they're not going into employment or education or training,' he said. 'I go around, it doesn't matter whether it's creative industries, advanced manufacturing, services, energy, and think I'd love my kids to work in any of these sectors. 'I think the number of young people who are Neet is appalling. I don't know how we've allowed that to happen.' Mr Reynolds said the industrial strategy should be judged on whether it helps school leavers 'understand that there are major careers, good jobs for British people'. 'The skills are about new careers for thousands of British people. Business needs that, I think the country needs that,' he said. 'Part of the conversation this week has been about the number of people on disability benefits in the UK, some of whom are in work, I do recognise that. 'But we've we've got to be addressing these issues for business, and we've got to be addressing them for people's lives themselves.' He also insisted that, whilst defending UK industry, the strategy will not represent 'nostalgia for the past' or a 'protectionist and 1970s orientated' approach. The Business Secretary, who has recently struck landmark trade deals with the US and India, said he would take a more cautious approach with China. He said that he has repeatedly brought up the dumping of steel on the global market at below production value in 'candid' discussions with Beijing. 'Whatever people think of the US administration, they have a point on the reciprocity of trade, if one part of the world is producing a lot of what the world makes and doesn't consume itself a reflective share of that,' he said. 'These big global imbalances, this isn't really how the global economy is supposed to function. 'So an obvious thing for us would be, is a country like China willing to let our brilliant service industries operate freely as we allow some countries to operate in the UK? That's a question for China.'
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Greater Lincolnshire mayor Andrea Jenkyns in the BBC hot seat
The Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns has been in the hot seat on BBC Radio Reform UK representative was elected last month after recieving 42% of the Andrea was taking questions from presenter Carla Greene, as well as those from are the four big takeaways from what she had to say – and you can listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds. 1. Trade college to be built Matthew Burke from Grimsby wants to see more job opportunities in North East Lincolnshire. The 33-year-old said: "Look at what other cities are doing and just try and bring that to Grimsby."Bringing investment to the local area is a key role of the Greater Lincolnshire Andrea announced she wanted to build a trade college in the area. She said: "We know right across the country we've got a shortage of plasterers, plumbers, builders. "Lecturers make more money in the private sector than actually teaching so we need to look at that skills gap." 2. Fair funding across the region Dame Andrea was asked specifically what she would be doing to help people in Northern responded: "I don't have this silo approach".The mayor was keen to stress that she would not be favouring one part of the region over another and said her role would help to bring a better said: "The good thing about a mayor is that you've got an overview of the whole county so you can ensure fair funding across the area."You can't have one part missing out." 3. Improvements to the care sector Corrina Pett is a mental health support worker in North Lincolnshire. She said she wanted to see more unemployed people trained to help fill the gaps in the care said: "There shouldn't be a shortage with the amount of unemployed people here."Dame Andrea said she wanted to change attitudes towards the sector."These are valuable roles and they're not to be looked down on."It's about working with the councils, colleges and care providers to ensure school leavers see this career as a viable option." 4. Transport plans Bill, a BBC Radio Humberside listener, asked why the East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire area missed out on billions of pounds worth of investment for transport Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday funding for tram, train and bus schemes in mayoral authorities across the Midlands, the North and the West Andrea Jenkyns said she wanted to come up with a fully costed transport plan for Greater Lincolnshire and promised to fight the business case for more transport investment for the said: "The Government has given money where they've got Labour mayors and this is why we need to clean up politics."The mayor made transport one of the key pillars of her election campaign by pledging to create investment in major roads such as the A15, A52 and A17, along with "proper integration between buses, trains and cars".HM Treasury for a comment. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
