Key takeaways from the 2022 Jobs and Skills Summit
A historical Jobs and Skills Summit brought together stakeholders from across Australia in a bid to tackle major challenges facing Australia’s labour market and economy.
It’s no secret that employers across the country have been struggling to attract and retain talent, while employees are grappling with cost-of-living pressures.
As experts in workplace performance, Davidson closely observed the Jobs and Skills Summit as it unfolded in Canberra on September 1-2.
The summit - attended by employers, civil society, unions, and government - was all about finding a common ground on how Australia can build a bigger, better trained and more productive workforce, while lifting real wages and living standards.
Following the Summit, a detailed report of recommendations was handed down. As leading staffing and recruitment, consulting and advisory partners, we have reviewed the extensive document and outlined key actions from the summit, including:
Increased migration: Lifting permanent migration numbers to 195,000 in 2022-23, an increase of 35,000, an additional $36.1m to accelerate visa processing, and relaxing work restrictions on international students to help ease critical workforce shortages
Reducing barriers to employment: Provision of a one-off ‘income credit’ so age pensioners who want to work can earn an additional $4000 this financial year without losing any of their pension, requiring businesses with 100+ employees to report their gender pay gap, and signing a MOU with the Business Council of Australia to develop a pilot aimed at increasing employment of people with a disability
More flexibility: Amending the Fair Work Act to strengthen access to flexible working arrangements. This includes making unpaid parental leave more flexible and strengthening protection for workers against discrimination and harassment.
Industrial relations: Changes to workplace relations laws to ensure workers and businesses have ‘flexible options’ for reaching agreements, including removing limitations on access to single and multi-employer agreements
TAFE funding: An additional $1 billion for fee-free TAFE in 2023 and accelerated delivery of 465,000 fee-free TAFE places, including 180,000 next year.
Ultimately, it’s hoped that these measures will address labour shortages by increasing the number of skilled people available to work. If you need help with a strategy to attract and retain employees in this tight labour market or our advisory services, then please contact us today!
*Image courtesy of Lukas Coch/AAP - The Guardian and includes Prime minister Anthony Albanese speaking to ACTU president Michele O'Neil and secretary Sally McManus during the jobs and skills summit at Parliament House in Canberra on Friday, 2 September 2022.
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