The industries facing the most significant skills shortages in 2022

The health and wellbeing of heavy vehicle drivers is an issue of vital importance to all Australians. Ensuring drivers are healthy is not only important to them, but it’s also an issue that impacts their families and friends, everyone else on our roads and our nation’s economy as a whole.

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated how reliant we all are on the road freight industry, and has highlighted the need to prioritise the health of the drivers that keep Australia moving.

The sedentary nature of a heavy vehicle driver’s occupation, combined with lack of healthy food choices at truck stops and lack of exercise, puts drivers at risk of obesity and developing chronic diseases, such as diabetes, poor mental health, and cardiovascular health issues. And there is a direct correlation between chronic diseases, injuries, ill-health, and fatigue with road safety.

The NHVR has published regulatory advice providing guidance on the management of known and unknown medical conditions of drivers and other workers in the heavy vehicle industry. It provides information about the most common medical conditions affecting workers in the heavy vehicle industry, what might be contributing to them, how current medical conditions can be managed and

BHP has released their Economic Contribution Report for the 2022 financial year, which shows the company contributed $79.3 billion in economic value to the Australian economy over the 12-month period.

The total national contribution to Australia comprises $18.5 billion in tax, royalty and other payments to governments, $16.5 billion of spending with suppliers, $39.6 billion in dividends to shareholders, $4.6 billion in employee wages, and $106 million in social investments. Highlights: • BHP is one of the largest taxpayers in

Australia • Over the past decade, BHP has paid more than $90 billion in taxes, royalties and other payments to governments in

Australia • It is expected that 10% of all company tax paid in Australia in the 2022 financial year will have been paid by BHP • In the 2022 financial year, BHP’s adjusted effective tax rate in

Australia was 42.7% including royalties • BHP has a workforce of about 50,000 people in Australia.

how new ones can be avoided.

Whilst this information and regulation is part of the HVNL there are some very good resources and check lists you can access regarding your health at www.nhvr.gov.au/ safety-accreditation-compliance/chain-ofresponsibility/regulatory-advice/fitness-todrive-physical-health

Eleven of Australia’s 20 largest employment sectors are facing a skills shortage in 2022, the National Skills Commission (NSC) says, underscoring the challenges facing businesses looking to build their workforce — or maintain the staff they already have.

In its annual Skills Priority List, the NSC found 286 out of 914 assessable occupations, or 31%, have experienced worker shortages this year.

Those findings represent a significant uptick from 2021, when 153 out of 799 assessed occupations, or 19%, faced a worker shortfall.

Of the 20 largest employment sectors, the occupations facing labour shortages include: • Retail manager (general); • Primary school teacher; • Secondary school teacher; • Truck driver (general); • Aged or disabled carer; • Electrician (general); • Child care worker; • Carpenter; • Program or project administrator; • Chef; and • Motor mechanic (general).

Australia’s small business environment has been defined by those workforce

shortages in 2022, and those deficits are demonstrated in both decades-low unemployment rates and extraordinarily high job vacancy numbers.

But the NSC data details how multiple factors — including pandemic-era border closures which suppressed immigration rates, an ageing population in need of healthcare and support services, worker burnout, and extreme construction demand — may have drained the pool of available labour.

The NSC data also highlights another way businesses could vie for talent: offering higher wages in their job ads.

Just 0.4% of employers with unfilled vacancies said they would consider changing the remuneration for their open roles.

By comparison, 6% said they would consider giving up on filling the role entirely, and 7% would contemplate restructuring their organisation.