2022 Skills Priority List
The National Skills Commission’s 2022 Skills Priority List (SPL) has been released and is now available as a digital interface that allows people to filter and search for jobs that are in high demand.
The SPL is released annually and identifies occupations in Australia that are in shortage, while also providing an assessment of future demand.
This year’s list reveals shortages in 286 occupations, compared to 153 in 2021. The number of jobs advertised reached 309,900 in August 2022, which is a 42 per cent increase from August 2021.
Employees that are in high demand are primarily health care professionals and teachers, however a list of the top 20 occupations (based on both current shortage and projected future employment growth) also shows that there are shortages in information technology and construction sectors.
Top 20 occupations in demand *Based on a combination of skills shortages, current job vacancies and projected employment growth over the next five years |
Internet Vacancy Index job ads (June to Aug 2022 monthly average) |
Registered Nurses |
9,266 |
Software and Applications Programmers |
7,841 |
Aged and Disabled Carers |
5,101 |
Construction Managers |
4,984 |
Child Carers |
4,549 |
Motor Mechanics |
4,316 |
Retail Managers |
4,244 |
Chefs |
4,141 |
ICT Business and Systems Analysts |
3,830 |
Metal Fitters and Machinists |
3,565 |
Cooks |
3,438 |
Electricians |
3,396 |
Civil Engineering Professionals |
3,268 |
Contract, Program and Project Administrators |
2,842 |
General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers |
2,306 |
Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers |
2,253 |
Physiotherapists |
1,482 |
Mining Engineers |
1,048 |
Gardeners |
1,038 |
Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers |
868 |
For the full Skills Priority List see https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/skills-priority-list.