How to reskill the defence and aerospace workforce to bridge the talent divide 

Australia’s defence and aerospace (D&A) industry currently faces significant skills and labour shortages, posing a significant risk to Australia’s defence capabilities. Glenn McPhee, executive general manager of ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions and head of the company’s D&A practice, recently shared insights with Australian Defence Magazine (ADM) about why Australia’s D&A sector cannot rely on recruitment alone to solve its talent problems. Instead, reskilling current workers is critical for D&A companies to succeed, alongside strengthening existing recruiting outcomes.

Australia’s D&A industry employed approximately 61,600 people in 2021-2022, representing 17.1 per cent growth over the previous year. The Australian Government’s defence budget is expected to increase at an annual rate of five per cent from 2024-2028, fuelling continued growth across the sector. However, the challenge is that such growth requires an appropriately skilled headcount; in short, employers need enough qualified people to fill existing gaps and grow into future roles. Companies are already struggling to secure the skills they need, particularly with global competition for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent squeezing the industry. This is complicated further by problems unique to the D&A sector, including the crippling time-to-hire delays caused by security clearances for new workers in the industry, sovereign skills shortages, and the need for new skill sets.

More than 60 per cent of Australia’s total workforce will require new skill sets by 2027, and the D&A sector is no different. Fortunately, 75 per cent of completed reskilling and upskilling programmes are economically positive and typically deliver productivity increases of up to 12 per cent per worker. As such, training to build and enhance an organisation’s workforce from within can pay off; however, it takes a well-planned approach to get there, and D&A organisations must have full sight of the outcomes they wish to achieve before they can implement the training solutions that will deliver the requisite skills for current and long-term success.

ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions recently commissioned a study titled The Ultimate Reskilling Guide for Australian Defence and Aerospace to identify key trends and provide recommendations that will help to address this impending challenge. It provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges facing the D&A industry and unpacks solutions around why reskilling is a viable alternative to more hiring, the factors that make reskilling essential for success in D&A, core reskilling actions, and how to create a winning strategy. Additionally, the seven-step guide to reskilling your D&A workforce also includes real-world D&A reskilling success stories.

For more information about the skills and labour challenges currently facing the Australian D&A industry download The Ultimate Reskilling Guide for Australian Defence and Aerospace. To learn more about how ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions can help your business bridge the recruitment and reskilling gap, contact the team today.