Can Sector Four be harnessed to take up this challenge?
David Myton from Campus Morning Mail reports that Australia’s employers are facing critical skills shortages and almost all are reporting low levels of literacy and numeracy among employees. They are also encountering difficulties in recruiting employees with STEM skills and in areas such as business automation, Big Data and artificial intelligence solutions.
These findings are revealed in the Australian Industry Group’s recently-released 2018 Workforce Development Needs Survey Report which says “major skills pressures” are looming at a “critical time for industry transformation”.
“Without an education and training sector that can adapt quickly to the needs of the digital economy Australia’s business sector will suffer competitively into the future,” it adds.
Major “pressure points” identified in the survey include:
- Skills shortages: 75 per cent of respondents reported skills shortages, a jump from 49 per cent in the previous survey in 2016, most often in the technician and trades worker category.
- Literacy and Numeracy: 99 per cent of employers (up from 96 per cent in 2016) say they are affected “in some way” by low levels of literacy and numeracy in their workforce.
- Leadership and Management: 62 per cent “believe a lack of leadership and management skills is having a high impact” on their business (up from 56 per cent in 2016).
Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said it was clear that “new approaches to education, training and re-skilling” were needed “to maximise the benefits of the digital economy”. …. more here