Jobs and Skills Australia’s 2025 Occupation Shortage List: Insights on Trades and Technical Skills

Australia’s labour market is undergoing rapid change, and the trades sector is at the heart of it. The June 2025 Occupation Shortage Report from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) shows that while overall vacancy fill rates are improving, trades and technical occupations remain some of the hardest jobs to staff.

This blog examines what the report says about trades and technical roles, why they continue to dominate the occupation shortage list, and how vocational education and training (VET) providers can adapt to address these gaps. It also highlights the role of RTOs in long-term workforce planning, ensuring graduates are job-ready for industries where demand shows no sign of slowing.

Why Trades Remain an Occupation in Demand in Australia

Despite national vacancy fill rates rising to 70.6% in June 2025, technicians and trades workers recorded just 57.0%, making it one of the lowest rates across all major occupation groups. That means nearly half of advertised vacancies go unfilled, even after extended recruitment efforts.

Several factors explain why trades remain a persistent occupation in demand in Australia:

• Lengthy Training Pipelines: Apprenticeships and technical qualifications take years to complete, creating delays in bringing new workers to market.
• Aging Workforce: Many skilled tradespeople are nearing retirement, leaving gaps that younger workers have yet to fill.
• Rising Infrastructure Demand: Large-scale housing and energy and renewable infrastructure projects increase demand for qualified workers faster than supply can keep up.
• Perception Issues: Some younger learners overlook trades careers, preferring university pathways despite strong job security and wages in technical fields.

For RTOs, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity: meeting industry demand requires scaling up delivery while also promoting trades as viable, rewarding careers.

What the 2025 Data Shows About Technical Shortages

The June 2025 report offers valuable insight into how technical roles compare to other sectors. Across trades and technical occupations:

• Applicants per vacancy rose slightly but did not translate into higher fill rates.
• Qualified applicants averaged 7.5 per vacancy, but employers still reported difficulty finding candidates with the right practical skills.
• Suitable applicants averaged just 3.2, showing that many candidates fall short of employer expectations.

These numbers highlight a mismatch: while people are applying, too few have the qualifications or experience needed. This underlines the critical role of vocational education and training in bridging the gap between applicant enthusiasm and actual employability.

The Impact on Industry and Communities

Trades shortages are not an isolated issue. They affect every part of the economy:

• Construction and Housing: Shortages of carpenters, electricians, and plumbers slow down projects and increase housing costs.
• Energy Transition Projects: Skilled trades are essential for renewable energy, hydrogen, and infrastructure upgrades. Workforce gaps here can stall Australia’s clean energy transition and decarbonation goals.
• Regional Development: In rural areas, shortages are even more pronounced, with employers struggling to attract tradespeople to towns where projects are waiting to begin.
• Business Costs: Employers often pay a premium to secure skilled staff, which raises costs for households and consumers.

This is why trades continue to dominate the occupation shortage list. The ripple effects of these gaps are felt far beyond individual employers.

Barriers to Filling Trade Vacancies

Understanding why trades are difficult to fill is essential for effective workforce planning. Key barriers include:

• Training Availability: Not all regions have RTOs delivering trade qualifications, making it difficult for learners to access programs.
• Completion Rates: Apprenticeships often experience dropouts due to low wages during training or poor workplace support.
• Technology Shifts: As industries modernise, training must adapt to include emerging technologies, green energy systems, and advanced machinery.
• Licensing Requirements: Additional steps such as certifications and state-based regulations create further bottlenecks for graduates.

These barriers explain why vacancy fill rates in trades remain low, even when interest in apprenticeships is strong.

How RTOs Can Respond to the Trades Shortage

For providers of vocational education and training, the shortage of trades workers offers a roadmap for where to focus delivery. Training organisations can make a meaningful impact by:

• Expanding Trade Qualifications: Prioritise delivery in electrical, construction, and mechanical trades aligned with the National Occupation Shortage List.
• Strengthening Industry Partnerships: Work directly with employers to co-design programs that ensure graduates are job-ready.
• Providing Flexible Training Models: Offer block release, blended learning, or mobile training to improve access for learners in regional and remote areas.
• Supporting Apprenticeships: Provide mentoring, structured pathways, and stronger employer support to improve completion rates.
• Embedding Future Skills: Integrate sustainability and digital technology into trades training to align with evolving industry needs.

By adapting programs in this way, RTOs can deliver graduates who are not only qualified but also capable of meeting the changing expectations of employers.

Trades and Long-Term Workforce Planning

Addressing trades shortages requires more than short-term fixes; it requires strategic workforce planning. The Occupation Shortage Report is a critical tool for RTOs to anticipate demand and align qualifications accordingly. Key workforce planning considerations include:

• Forecasting Demand: Use Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) data to identify which trades are projected to remain high on the occupation shortage list.
• Aligning Pathways: Build entry-level qualifications that feed into higher trade certifications.
• Delivering Regionally: Target areas where shortages are sharpest to support local development.
• Collaborating with Industry: Involve employers in course design to ensure relevance.

By embedding workforce planning into training strategy, RTOs can future-proof their offerings and stay ahead of employer demand.

Changing Perceptions of Trades Careers

One of the biggest challenges is attracting more learners into trades. Despite being an occupation in demand in Australia, trades are sometimes undervalued compared to university pathways. RTOs can play a role in changing this perception by:

• Showcasing success stories of trades graduates,
• Highlighting the earning potential and job security in technical fields,
• Partnering with schools to promote trades careers earlier in education, and
• Offering clear pathways for career progression, including leadership roles and small business opportunities.

Improving perceptions of trades isn’t just a marketing exercise—it is central to ensuring that more learners enter and complete qualifications in areas of critical national demand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are trades still on the occupation shortage list despite rising vacancy fill rates overall?

Trades require longer training pipelines, have higher dropout rates in apprenticeships, and face additional licensing barriers. These factors slow the supply of skilled workers even as demand grows.

How can RTOs use workforce planning to address trade shortages?

RTOs can use Jobs and Skills Australia data to forecast demand, focus training on priority trades, and design pathways that support both entry-level and advanced qualifications in technical fields.

What role does vocational education and training play in solving the trades shortage?

VET ensures learners graduate with practical, job-ready skills. By embedding sustainability and digital technologies in programs, RTOs can prepare tradespeople for evolving industry requirements.

How can perceptions of trades careers be improved to attract more learners?

Highlighting career progression, job security, strong wages, and success stories of graduates can help shift perceptions. Early school engagement and industry partnerships also play a key role.

What steps can RTOs take to improve apprenticeship completion rates?

Strategies include structured mentoring, stronger employer support, flexible training delivery, and better alignment of course content with real workplace expectations.

Conclusion: Meeting the Trades Challenge Head-On

The June 2025 Occupation Shortage Report reinforces that trades and technical roles remain some of the hardest jobs to fill in Australia. With fill rates at just 57%, these occupations will continue to shape the national occupation shortage list and remain a top occupation in demand in Australia.

For RTOs, the path forward is clear: expand delivery in trades, strengthen partnerships with employers, and design programs that improve both access and completion. By aligning vocational education and training with the realities of the labour market, training providers can directly support Australia’s infrastructure, industry, and regional development goals.

Addressing these shortages is not just about filling jobs—it’s about building a workforce capable of meeting the demands of a changing economy. Through proactive workforce planning and targeted course delivery, RTOs can play a pivotal role in ensuring Australia has the skilled tradespeople it needs for the future.