News & Events
NCVER 2011 Webinar Series
Causes and consequences of skill shortages in Australian businesses
Presenter: Dr Josh Healy, National Institute of Labour Studies, Flinders University
Chair: Tom Karmel, National Centre for Vocational Education Research
Discussants: Megan Lilly, The Australian Industry Group and Damian Oliver, National Centre for Vocational Education Research
Wednesday 7 December 2011
2.00pm - 3.00pm AEDT
Unlike in many developed countries, the Australian economy is returning to a state near full employment and there is mounting concern about emergent and deepening skill shortages. Although skill shortages are often portrayed as a significant problem for the Australian economy, it is difficult to find evidence about where skill shortages occur, why they occur, what businesses try to do about them, and the effectiveness of their responses.
This webinar will discuss an array of new findings about the prevalence, causes and consequences of skill shortages, based on a comprehensive analysis of the Business Longitudinal Database compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. For our purposes, skill shortages are present when businesses report having had an ‘insufficient supply of appropriately qualified workers available or willing to work under existing market conditions’. The webinar will show that skill shortages can have simple or complex causes, and that this distinction matters, both in terms of how businesses respond to skill shortages and their implications for business performance.
To register to attend this free webinar
About the presenter
Dr Josh Healy is a Research Fellow at the National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS), Flinders University, where he specialises in industrial relations and applied labour economics. His primary research focus is on the operation and effects of minimum wages, and he completed in 2010 a comprehensive study of the Australian minimum wage system for his doctoral thesis.
