Skilled Worker.

Australian Industry Group and Deloitte CEO Survey, 2010

According to a May 2010 Australian Industry Group/ Deloitte CEO survey, skills shortages are re-emerging as a major threat to productivity as the economy recovers. This situation is set to intensify and businesses are working hard to mitigate the risks posed by the skills shortages and an increasing shallow pool of talent.

The survey, Skills shortages: A high risk business, which involved more than 400 companies of all sizes, found that more than one-third (34.7%) of businesses believe there is a high to extreme risk of skills shortages impacting negatively on the operation of their business this year.

This level of concern increases to almost half of all companies (47.5%) by 2015. The inability to fill skilled vacancies is forecast to significantly hamper business' ability to support production and service delivery.