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Experience and education
Uni and VET courses key to employment : Labour market report breakdown
By Erin Morley
The September quarterly Labour Market Update , released by Jobs and Skills Australia , found that in the year to May 2023 , 91 per cent of total employment growth was in occupations that require post-school qualifications .
It reports that nine of the top 10 jobs with the largest increases in employment require a post-school qualification ( skill level one to four ) or equivalent , with five of those requiring a bachelor ' s degree ( skill level one ) or equivalent .
An equivalent to each skill level can be replaced by the number of years of relevant experience that a person has working in that occupation . For instance , skill level one equivalence is five years working in a related role .
Although more jobs need higher qualifications , the report also said that employers value experience over qualifications , with 60 per cent of employers identifying relevant experience as their top priority , and less than 50 per cent reporting qualifications as paramount .
Andrew Norton , professor in the practice of higher education policy at the Australian
National University , told Campus Review that most employers actually want both , and this has a negative effect on the pipeline from higher education to the workforce , as it leaves higher-skill level jobs vacant .
" Even if there are strong demands for a profession , sometimes graduates still struggle to find work simply because they don ' t have any experience ," he explained .
The University of New England is attempting to combat this through a fast-tracked two-year bachelor ' s degree that considers experience in the Australian Defence Force ( ADF ) as up to 66 per cent of the qualification requirements needed to graduate .
According to the report , in the last year 72 per cent of employers said they had difficulty recruiting for higher skilled occupations ( level one to three ), compared to only 55 per cent who said it was difficult to recruit for lower-skilled occupations ( level four to five ).
" Often [ higher skill level jobs ] are more interesting work , less repetitive and more scope for independent judgement ," Professor Norton said .
" On the other hand , some people don ' t do well in the education system , and there is still a need for jobs that don ' t require any post-school qualification ."
Professor Norton said many recent reports also show universities aren ' t
Even if there are strong demands for a profession , sometimes graduates still struggle to find work simply because they don ' t have any experience
enrolling enough full-time students to meet demand , with many choosing to study part-time or , especially among the mature-aged cohort , go straight into the workforce .
The report revealed over half of total employment growth over the year was in skill level two to four occupations , where vocational education and training ( VET ) qualifications are the primary pathway .
VET courses have commonly been thought of as a ' second option ' to university degrees , even though increasingly graduates from both can obtain the same jobs , but with university graduates often left with more debt .
Government initiatives rolled out this year , such as fee-free TAFE , $ 330m to ADF technical trade skills and Queensland ' s Trade to Teach internships , are attempting to ameliorate both the vocational education and high-skills shortages . ■
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