Skills and our Population

Three factors influence population: birth, death and migration.

Nationwide we have an ageing population. Tasmania has a greater ageing population than do all other states and territories.

Fact

• By 2010, more Tasmanians will be leaving the labour market than entering it (6). 

• By 2015, there will be more people aged over sixty-five years than those between the ages of 0 and fourteen years.

Young people entering the labour market for the first time will have greater choice and mobility in employment. Employers need to understand and appeal to “Generation Y” who have been characterised as ambitious, tending to move jobs more often, be especially tuned to their own market value in the job market, having a limited loyalty to any particular employer, technology savvy and insistent on a stimulating job environment.

Employers may need innovative strategies for attracting and retaining employees across all ages to build and maintain their workforce and to consider retraining and retaining older people to generate the skills they need, mentor and lead new employees. With the number of people entering the workforce shrinking, employers will increasingly look toward their existing workforce to meet their business needs.  Existing workers, particularly older workers, provide the workplace with valuable knowledge, skills and experience. 

Employers will have an increasingly important part to play in the up-skilling, retraining and retention of existing employees through the development of innovative workforce planning strategies.

Skilled migration appears an obvious method of increasing the stock of skills in a community. While migration has been a major influence on population in the past, the international market for skilled people is now highly competitive and opportunities to attract skilled migrants are restricted. Tasmania currently receives less than a 1% share of the total migration to Australia.

Attracting skilled expatriates and skilled workers from interstate to return to Tasmania is a further opportunity to increase the skills base. To achieve a more balanced demographic in Tasmania it may be necessary to promote career and lifestyle opportunities for those considering relocation. Vehicles such as the University of Tasmania Alumni and other commercial web based promotions provide opportunity for us to reach and “sell” Tasmania to expatriates and interstate job seekers/job changers.

(6) ABS TABLE B6. Population projections, By age and sex, Tasmania - Series B, 2005