Upskill fast-track to help country deal with worker shortage

As Australia continues to weather a severe shortage of suitable workers in many professions and trades, the need for workers to reskill and seek specialist qualifications is increasing.

Having basic credentials for a job is one thing but being the most suitable person for a specific job is entirely different. Broad university degrees or tertiary-level certificate qualifications will only go so far when employers are seeking particular skills.

That is why the federal government’s $18.5 million pilot program offering accelerated tertiary-level courses in highly specialised areas is a welcome addition to the nation’s suite of education and skills training.

As we report today, 18 universities from across the nation have stepped forward to offer 28 fast-tracked courses in certain specialised aspects of education, health, engineering, IT, environmental science/climate change, agriculture, food production and more.

The proposed suite of micro-credentials courses is aimed at domestic students, which makes sense when Australia is trying to keep skilled workers here. And it is deliberately intended to provide, swiftly, a bridging credential, an enhancement, to existing skills. Some courses will be as short as three months or up to six.

The government’s rationale is part of a bid to meet at least some of the nation’s chronic labour shortages, albeit in tiny but growing sub-sectors where it is almost impossible to find someone suitable.

Engineers could pick up a course on, say, drone mapping and navigation systems, hydrogen production or decarbonisation management.

Schoolteachers could enhance their repertoire with courses on maths, science, phonics or Einsteinian physics.

And courses for health sector workers include digital health management, cybersecurity or how to manage a disease outbreak.