Skills Priority List ignores the reality on the ground

The release of a revised National Skills Commission (NSC) Skills Priority List is possibly one of the most bureaucratic – but influential – events of the year.

The composition of the individual occupations identified as in a shortage of workers in this list is a critical guide to Federal Government policy across education, training, and immigration.

In today’s release, industries assessed by the NSC to be in shortage have increased to 31 per cent of occupations, up from 19 per cent of job types one year ago.

Unfortunately, the Skills Priority List ignores the reality on the ground for both Public Relations and Advertising professionals, with both being assessed to have almost no shortages and only moderate demand. The exception proves the rule – with the only shortage being reported in Victoria, which is apparently the only state to have a shortage of Advertising Managers.

A quick glance at the pages that you read this on demonstrates that this is clearly not the case.

In fact, to show you how out of whack these assumptions are – the NSC is forecasting a 6000 person drop in the PR and communication workforce by 2025. That is certainly not the experience – or outlook – that I or any of the PRIA’s members share.

During the pandemic, demand for our industry has soared, and it has stretched us all to the limit as our skills are more relied upon by our colleagues, clients, and the community.

This demand is showing through in some data sets, with the number of open roles in PR and communications having grown by 183 per cent over the past decade.

However, the NSC’s oversight regrettably means that we won’t be seeing PR professionals prioritised for skilled migration positions, we won’t be seeing additional funding into our higher education sector, and we won’t be seeing investment in training from Federal and State governments.

Fortunately, the PR and communication industry is working together to address this issue, with the Public Relations Institute of Australia’s Migration Taskforce having engaged EY to prepare Economic Modelling that quantifies the skills shortage that we all face daily using EY’s proprietary Labour Market

The Migration Taskforce, whose members include Sling & Stone; Herd MSL; Red Havas; Thrive PR; WE Communications; Ogilvy PR; Sefiani; The Haus; History Will Be Kind; Icon Agency; Porter Novelli; BCW; Keep Left; Agenda C; Salt & Shein and The Savage Company, are helping to share the data and insight that drives this model and our submission to the NSC.

This submission will address the flawed assumptions that lead to our industry being assessed as not in a skills shortage and will ensure that we have access to the talent that we need to meet the surge in demand for our skills. It means that companies, not-for-profits, agencies, and government will all have access to the skills that help shape and sway opinion, drive meaningful change, and unite us towards a more sustainable future.

It is an important call to rally together as an industry and unite to drive the change that we need to ensure that our industry lives up to our collective ambition.

So, while today’s updated skills list is a severe disappointment for everyone in our industry, there is hope on the horizon that we will get the injection in education, training, and migration that we need to find and nurture the next generation of talent.

Shane Allison, CEO, public address & chair, Phronesis | president, PRIA