Australia Lists 279 Occupations in Shortage That South Africans Could Fill
- Jobs and Skills Australia released its 2026 Occupation Shortages List, identifying 279 roles where demand exceeds supply
- Technicians, trades workers and professionals made up 90% of the shortage occupations across construction, health and education
- Australia identified three key reasons why worker shortages persist across the country
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Australia has officially named 279 occupations where there are not enough workers to meet demand, opening a potential window for South Africans looking to build careers abroad. Jobs and Skills Australia published its 2026 Occupation Shortages List (OSL) after assessing more than 1,000 roles across the country's labour market.
The 279 shortage occupations represent 27% of all roles assessed. That figure has been declining steadily, dropping from 36% in 2023 and 29% in 2025, suggesting the gap is narrowing but still significant.
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Who is most needed in Australia
Technicians, trades workers and professionals together account for 90% of the roles in shortage. The sectors most affected include construction, engineering, electrotechnology and telecommunications, health, early childhood education, and various science fields. The OSL is produced through a three-stage process: statistical modelling, manual review, and feedback from stakeholders and government, ensuring the results reflect real conditions rather than estimates.
Why the shortage keeps growing
Alongside the OSL, Jobs and Skills Australia released an Occupation Shortage Drivers (OSD) analysis to explain what is causing the gaps. Three main drivers were identified.
The first is an education and training gap, where the number of qualified graduates simply is not large enough to meet demand.
The second is a suitability gap, where enough candidates exist on paper but employers find that applicants lack the practical experience or employability skills needed.
The third is a retention gap, where workers leave roles due to low pay or poor conditions, forcing employers to recruit repeatedly just to stay staffed. In 2026, the suitability gap and training gap were the two most common main drivers of shortage.
Retention challenges were more concentrated in sectors such as food and hospitality, automotive, and construction, particularly among trades workers.
For South Africans with qualifications in engineering, healthcare or the trades, the list signals that Australia is actively looking for workers with skills that many in Mzansi already hold. The full 2026 OSL Key Findings Report and OSD Report are available through Jobs and Skills Australia.
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Source: Briefly News
