Victorian Skills Plan helps plan for jobs and skills in the regions

Regional Victoria now has a clear picture of what skills are needed and where the job opportunities will be over the next 3 years.

Minister for Skills and TAFE Gayle Tierney visited Wodonga TAFE today to outline how the Victorian Skills Plan for 2023 into 2024 delivers vital data about workforce needs across all industries and occupations across the state, including in the regions.

By 2026, regional Victoria is expecting an extra 75,000 jobs created including 22,600 in health care and social assistance, 8,900 in hospitality, 7,100 in education and training.

Fostering collaboration with training providers and industry will address future skills needs in regional Victoria. Wodonga TAFE understands the value of this, partnering with the Australian Defence Force to deliver technical trades, heavy vehicle and plant machinery, and medic training for the army and navy.

The top occupations in demand across all regional Victoria include registered nurses, and ageing and disability carers. Livestock farmers are also in the top 5 occupations in demand for more than half of Victoria’s regions.

The Victorian Skills Authority (VSA) delivers the Victorian Skills Plan and publishes valuable data to support alignment of training with employment demand.

To support local skills and training initiatives, the VSA convened Regional Skills Taskforces to help develop 7 Regional Skills Demand Profiles. The profiles gather local insights and intelligence on skills demand, industry training needs and priority growth sectors in specific regions of Victoria.

Along with the Victorian Skills Plan, these profiles will inform the investments for vocational education and skills development in the regions.

This includes support for Victoria’s TAFEs. Regional TAFEs are a key source of skills for manufacturing and construction, which will expand to support the energy sector and other infrastructure needs. TAFEs also provide skills for workers in industries affected by population growth in the regions, such as education, health and hospitality.

The Victorian Skills Plan for 2023 into 2024 makes recommendations to support TAFEs to deliver contemporary skills to help local industry respond to changes driven by digitisation and offer improved career options to local students.

Quote attributable to Minister for Skills and TAFE Gayle Tierney

'This is a skills plan for all of Victoria – with metropolitan and regional areas given equal importance, and a commitment to deeply understand and meet the varying skills needs across our state.'

'By understanding what future skills and training the regions need and supporting local training providers, we’re helping to meet a crucial need for skilled workers and giving more regional Victorians access to a rewarding career.'