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13th January 2010, 03:02 PM
DANIEL EMERSON, The West Australian January 13, 2010
More than half the businesses surveyed by the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry believe they will be harmed by labour shortages within a year.
The chamber, which gauged the mood of about 500 of its members last month, said that 43 per cent of businesses believed labour shortages would harm their operations in a year, while a further 12 per cent believed the impact would be "very negative".
The construction industry is the most concerned, with 68 per cent of businesses believing a lack of suitable workers will begin to bite within a year, followed by the manufacturing industry at 60 per cent.
CCI business policy manager Nathan Taylor said that with another boom on the way, skills shortages would be the most significant issue facing WA in the medium term. "We believe that (the shortages) are going to be right across the board," he said.
Opposition training spokeswoman Ljiljanna Ravlich said more than $1 billion of resources projects in the pipeline would need to be serviced by 60,000 new workers, but the Barnett Government had done nothing since gaining office to make sure a necessary workforce was being trained. Training Minister Peter Collier dismissed the criticism as "rubbish", claiming the creation of a separate Department of Training and Workforce Development proved how seriously the Government treated the issue.
"We launched a workforce development plan with industry six weeks ago," he said. "To suggest the Government has been sitting on its hands is nonsense."
Market research company IbisWorld has released its list of the 10 Australian industries expected to experience the biggest employment growth during the next five years.
Nickel and iron ore mining was third on the list with expected employment growth of 9.6 per cent and 7.7 per cent, but the biggest growth industry was organic farming, which was expected to expand 11.2 per cent.
Child care, veterinarian and accounting services also featured on the list. Wembley Veterinary Hospital practice owner Garry Edgar said it was not surprising his industry was predicted to grow 5 per cent. It had been difficult to attract support staff such as veterinarian nurses during the last boom.
"The rural area is where the real shortfall is," he said. "If your option is to work in Port Hedland and be a vet versus working there in a mining situation, the mining is going to be a lot more financially lucrative."
To see the Top Ten 10 Jobs forecast for 2010 and beyond check out the post below.
MH
More than half the businesses surveyed by the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry believe they will be harmed by labour shortages within a year.
The chamber, which gauged the mood of about 500 of its members last month, said that 43 per cent of businesses believed labour shortages would harm their operations in a year, while a further 12 per cent believed the impact would be "very negative".
The construction industry is the most concerned, with 68 per cent of businesses believing a lack of suitable workers will begin to bite within a year, followed by the manufacturing industry at 60 per cent.
CCI business policy manager Nathan Taylor said that with another boom on the way, skills shortages would be the most significant issue facing WA in the medium term. "We believe that (the shortages) are going to be right across the board," he said.
Opposition training spokeswoman Ljiljanna Ravlich said more than $1 billion of resources projects in the pipeline would need to be serviced by 60,000 new workers, but the Barnett Government had done nothing since gaining office to make sure a necessary workforce was being trained. Training Minister Peter Collier dismissed the criticism as "rubbish", claiming the creation of a separate Department of Training and Workforce Development proved how seriously the Government treated the issue.
"We launched a workforce development plan with industry six weeks ago," he said. "To suggest the Government has been sitting on its hands is nonsense."
Market research company IbisWorld has released its list of the 10 Australian industries expected to experience the biggest employment growth during the next five years.
Nickel and iron ore mining was third on the list with expected employment growth of 9.6 per cent and 7.7 per cent, but the biggest growth industry was organic farming, which was expected to expand 11.2 per cent.
Child care, veterinarian and accounting services also featured on the list. Wembley Veterinary Hospital practice owner Garry Edgar said it was not surprising his industry was predicted to grow 5 per cent. It had been difficult to attract support staff such as veterinarian nurses during the last boom.
"The rural area is where the real shortfall is," he said. "If your option is to work in Port Hedland and be a vet versus working there in a mining situation, the mining is going to be a lot more financially lucrative."
To see the Top Ten 10 Jobs forecast for 2010 and beyond check out the post below.
MH