The National Skills Commission has released its 2022 Skills Priority List, highlighting occupations with shortages – and STEM-skilled jobs stand out!
Last week, the National Skills Commission released its annual Skills Priority List, providing a detailed overview of occupations that are in shortage, both nationally and by state and territory. And in keeping with the tech theme of so many jobs on the list – this year it’s available in a a handy interactive digital interface, enabling you to filter occupations by ‘shortage rating’, and by future demand.
RELATED: Why tech and cyber careers are so hot
We did some digging into the data – in particular, looking at occupations that are both experiencing a national skills shortage whilst simultaneously predicted to have ‘strong’ future demand. You could call it the ultimate future-proof-career-combo, and a total of 66 occupations fit this criteria on the 2022 list.
And, not surprisingly, STEM jobs – especially in the tech sector – feature strongly! Here are our takeaways and highlights.
Cyber security careers are hot right now
When the Optus hack hit the headlines recently, it only reminded us just how crucial cyber security is, and of the need for talent in this fast-growing sector. The 2022 Skills Priority List backs that up with several cyber security occupations featuring, including:
- penetration tester,
- cyber governance risk and compliance specialist,
- cyber security advice and assessment specialist,
- cyber security analyst, cyber security architect
- and cyber security operations coordinator.
Of 66 of the top future-proof jobs, 19 are in tech
Of the 66 listed jobs deemed to be both in shortage and to have strong future demand, 19 (almost a third!) were in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.
In fact, scroll through the list and you might accidentally think you’re reading our list of every computer science job we could think of!
In addition to the sought-after cyber jobs highlighted above, you’ll find
- analyst programmer,
- computer network and systems engineer,
- database administorator,
- developer programmer,
- ICT quality assurance engineer,
- ICT systems test engineer,
- network administrator,
- network analyst,
- software engineer,
- software tester,
- software and applications programmer
- and web developer.
ICT manager and ICT project manager also make it onto the list for the Northern Territory Phew! That’s a lot of in-demand tech skills.
RELATED: 5 quizzes that’ll help you find your dream tech career
Mining and resources sector need grads
Another STEM stand-out in the list includes jobs related to the mining and resources sector. This includes mining engineer, petroleum engineer and metallurgist. All states bar the Northern Territory also have a current shortage of geotechnical engineers combined with strong predicted future demand.
RELATED: 7 future-focused mining and resource careers to consider
More insights
While other STEM jobs made the list of occupations experiencing a current skills shortage – including electronics engineer, mechanical engineer, geologist, geophysicist and hydrogeologist – these occupations are only predicted to have ‘soft’ future demand.
And it’s not all about STEM of course, with health and education (nursing in particular) featuring strongly on the list. While regionally there’s a lack of shearers apparently.
