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There is a global demand for health professionals. In developing countries, the health workforce is ageing rapidly. In Australia, 42 per cent of surgeons were aged over 55, and the average age of nurses was 50. Health workforce migration is seen as an answer to short-term domestic labour shortages. In Australia, migrant health workers are often recruited to work in rural, regional and remote areas. Developed countries are looking at specific migration categories that are designed to attract and retain skilled workers. Changes in the rules for international students are also being examined as a way of alleviating the shortages. Australia, like other developed countries, will face increased competition in attracting and retaining skilled health migrants. Show less

In Canada, youth apprenticeships have been promoted as an educational alternative that leads to the development of valuable skills, allows for the opportunity to earn an income while learning and helps youth to gain a head start into lucrative, creative and in-demand careers. Yet, these programmes have remained rather marginal and continue to be perceived as being of lower-status compared to traditional post-secondary educational pathways, such as those leading to university or community college. In this paper, [the authors] draw on interview data with former youth apprentices in the province of Ontario to explore their reasons for entering apprenticeships in high school, their experiences in them and their own perceptions about the status and social recognition of apprenticeships. [The authors] suggest that policies regarding apprenticeship programmes in Canada need to expand their focus. While emphasis is currently placed on recruiting students by highlighting relatively utilitarian benefits, [the authors] argue that more focus needs to be placed on the training offered to apprentices including the commitment of employers to provide quality training on the job, the integration of classroom and on-the-job training and the opportunity for apprentices to move from partial to full participation in communities of practice.

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In many countries, training subsidies and levy schemes are used to tackle the problem that company-based provision of apprenticeship training is low. In this paper, we consider the introduction of a levy scheme in the care sector and estimate the causal effect exerted by substantial redistribution of care worker apprenticeship costs on the training activity of care facilities. We exploit the fact that the underlying apprenticeship levy was introduced across the German federal states at different points in time. For ambulatory care, we find a positive effect on the probability of hiring new apprentices and on the number of new apprentices. Inpatient care facilities react only at the intensive margin. This suggests that the positive effects in this sector are driven mainly by facilities that have already provided training slots before the reform.

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The purpose of the inquiry is to investigate and report on workforce challenges in the Australian transport sector, with particular reference to the following issues: current and future employment trends within the industry; industry needs and the skills profile of the current workforce; current and future skill and labour supply issues; strategies for enhancing recruitment, training and retention rates in the sector; and strategies to meet the demands of employers in regional and remote areas. Show less

The Labour Market Updates are quarterly reports that provide information about issues affecting Australia's current and emerging labour market. This update brings together a range of Jobs and Skills Australia, and Australian Bureau of Statistics data sources to analyse the state of the Australian labour market in the March quarter of 2023. This update highlights: (1) the recent overall strength of the Australian labour market; (2) variations in outcomes across industries, occupations and skill levels - including strong recent employment outcomes for occupations where vocational education and training (VET) qualifications are the primary pathway; (3) a slight easing in recruitment difficulty and an increase in the likelihood of employers filling an advertised role; (4) improved recent results across a number of indicators of wages growth; (5) an expansion of preliminary analysis of the underlying drivers of skills shortage for the top 20 occupations in demand, to assess whether the shortage is primarily driven by a lack of people with the essential technical skills or by other factors - such as non-technical qualities considered important by employers or by willingness to apply for the vacancies under current conditions; and (6) a deep dive into key regional skills needs.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

The movement to make American cities more sustainable, efficient and livable is perhaps the greatest new engine for urban economic growth, innovation and job creation in many decades. The American Solar Energy Society estimates that in 2006 alone, renewable energy and energy efficiency were responsible for $970 billion in industry revenues and 8.5 million jobs. This number will grow exponentially if our nation commits itself in earnest to reducing carbon emissions and making economy-wide improvements in energy efficiency. Unfortunately, America’s growing green economy faces a looming labor shortage in sectors like manufacturing, construction and installation. In a 2005 survey by the National Association of Manufacturers, 90 per cent of respondents indicated a moderate to severe shortage of qualified, skilled production employees like machinists and technicians. Similarly, the National Renewable Energy Lab has identified a shortage of skills and training as a leading barrier to renewable energy and energy efficiency growth. This labor shortage is only likely to get more severe as baby-boomers skilled in current energy technologies retire; in the power sector, for example, nearly one-quarter of the current workforce will be eligible for retirement in the next five to seven years.

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Labour shortages in health care professions have become a pressing issue across many Canadian jurisdictions and were especially exacerbated by the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic. To help address these shortages, federal, provincial and territorial governments have implemented measures to facilitate the entry of skilled immigrants with health care qualifications into their respective professions, among other government actions to strengthen the health workforce. However, comprehensive data on the numbers, sociodemographic characteristics and labour market outcomes of internationally educated health care professionals (IEHPs) remain scarce.

This article provides estimates of the number of IEHPs in Canada based on 2021 Census data, shedding light on their distribution across provinces and territories. It further examines the sociodemographic characteristics of IEHPs and explores their occupational distribution across major fields of study. This article serves as a snapshot of a comprehensive report, which will be released later, offering detailed descriptive and multivariate analyses of the labour market outcomes of IEHPs. In this article, IEHPs were defined as landed immigrants who held a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree from outside Canada in a health field of study and who reported it as their highest certificate, diploma or degree. Temporary residents and Canadian-born people who received their highest certificate, diploma or degree in health in a foreign country were excluded.

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The strains on labor capacity in oil and gas construction markets worldwide are becoming increasingly well known. These strains continue to affect projected project costs, and several large capital projects have already been delayed or cancelled as a result of rising costs and questionable long-term profitability projections. As demand continues to increase in the face of the liquified natural gas (LNG) export gold rush, construction firms are faced with unprecedented pressures to retain and grow talent. To keep up with this extremely dynamic and competitive - if not unprecedented - business environment, US energy infrastructure construction firms need to develop a robust talent pipeline to tackle the industry's many business challenges in the coming years. This article provides oil and gas construction demand and labor supply forecasts, presents key labor dynamics in today's US oil and gas construction industry, and summarizes recommendations on how to prepare for the imminent labor and knowledge void.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

The Labour Market Updates are quarterly reports that provide information about issues affecting Australia's current and emerging labour market. This update brings together a range of Jobs and Skills Australia, and Australian Bureau of Statistics data sources to analyse the state of the Australian labour market in the December quarter of 2022. This update highlights: the recent overall strength of the Australian labour market; variations in outcomes across industries, occupations and skill levels - including strong recent employment outcomes for occupations where vocational education and training (VET) qualifications are the primary pathway; a slight easing in recruitment difficulty and an increase in the likelihood of employers filing an advertised role; improved recent results across a number of indicators of wages growth; updated analysis of the top 20 occupations in demand (both nationally and for each state and territory); and preliminary analysis of the underlying drivers of skills shortage for the top 20 occupations in demand.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

This discussion paper undertakes projections and analysis of the potential role of immigration in meeting future labour force needs to inform government consideration of future settings of Australia's temporary and permanent migration programs.

Excerpt from publication. Show less