State priority occupation list

What is the State priority occupation list?

The State priority occupation list is an annually produced list of skilled occupations in high demand or considered industry-critical in Western Australia.

Why do we have a State priority occupation list?

The list primarily informs the development of the State Training Plan, which guides the funding of training programs.

The top listed priority occupations on the list are also a key input to the skilled migration occupation list for State sponsored migration.

More broadly, the State priority occupation list also assists workforce development planning in Western Australia.
 

Who produces the list?

The Department of Training and Workforce Development produces the list in consultation with key stakeholders, including the State’s ten industry-linked training councils.

Underlying principle

The Department has based the methodology for the State priority occupation list on the key principle underpinning the Skills Australia Skilled Occupations List (SOL). A priority occupation is therefore defined as an occupation:

‘… where specialised skills are learned in formal education and training is needed at entry level, and the impact of market failure is potentially significant.’

In practice, this means the list is not simply an indicator of labour shortages, given the emphasis on skills and formal learning processes embedded in the above principle. This is also reflected in criteria 2 and 3 below.
 

Criteria for inclusion on preliminary state priority occupation list

The following criteria are used in determining the occupations to be included on the State priority occupation list.

1. Valid data
There must be an adequate level of quality information about the occupation in order to assess and validate the needs of the occupation. This means that occupations must have a valid Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) code at the six-digit level.

2. High levels of skill
The occupation must have specialised skills that require extended learning and preparation time. Occupations that do not require post-school qualifications prior to entry will be excluded from the list, for example, labourers, process workers, and kitchen hands.

3. Clear pathways
The occupation should have clear education and/or training pathways (ie. qualifications), where the skills learnt clearly match the requirements of the occupation. Examples would include doctors, registered nurses, veterinarians, and trades workers such as electricians, plumbers, and fitters.

Where an occupation does not have any formal educational or VET (Vocational Education and Training) qualifications associated with it, it will be excluded from the list. Examples would include members of Parliament, judges, and defence force personnel.

4. Skills shortage
An occupation will be considered if any disruption caused by the occupation being in short supply is great, resulting in supply bottlenecks, or imposing significant costs to the community.

This would be the case if there is significant employment in the occupation, strong forecast employment growth, where the average age in the occupation is high, where significant numbers are leaving the occupation and / or where industry has placed a high value on the occupation through the payment of high wages.
 

What are State priority 1, State priority 2 and industry training council-identified Priority occupations?

State priority 1 occupations are characterised by a combination of one or more of the following factors:

• very large levels of employment;
• high forecast growth and evident wage pressures; and
• consistent identification across a range of indicators as an industry critical occupation.

There are 116 State priority 1 occupations on the list.

State priority 2 occupations are characterised by:

• notable levels of employment;
• medium-level forecast employment growth; and
• identification across a range of indicators as an industry-critical occupation.

There are 123 State priority 2 occupations on the list.

Together, the State priority 1 and State priority 2 occupations make up the 239 State priority occupations.

Additional to the State Priority occupation list, there are a set of industry training council-identified priority occupations. These are occupations that have been identified by training councils in their industry workforce development plans as critical to their particular industry, but are not State priority occupations.

While an occupation may be identified as critical within its own industry area, if it does not does not meet the criteria as specified above, it will not be considered for inclusion as a State priority 1 or State priority 2 occupation.

The Department will work with the industry training councils to monitor and assess the relative priorities for training, including assessment of the current supply of training in these occupations, as further evidence of need arises.

There are 125 industry training council-identified priority occupations.
 

How is the list produced?

The Department of Training and Workforce Development conducts extensive economic and labour market research and analysis at an industry and occupational level to determine the State’s priority occupations.

This work is supplemented by intelligence provided by industry, facilitated through the State Training Board’s training council network.

To distil the list, occupations are analysed against the following indicators:

• current and forecast levels of employment growth within the specified occupations;
• average weekly earnings and wages growth;
• average age of existing employees across the occupation in Western Australia; and
• the level of turnover of staff within the occupation

Training councils are also engaged to provide strategic advice on occupations considered critical to their industry, based on their own qualitative research and consultation with industry.
 

Where is the list available?

You can download the list here. An Information Paper detailing the methodology and consultation process used to determine the list is available here.

How can I get involved?

If you have queries regarding specific occupations, please contact the relevant training council. Training councils are the first point of contact for feedback regarding the list.

For general enquiries regarding the list please email swp@dtwd.wa.gov.au.

For information regarding skilled migration please contact Skilled Migration Western Australia.