Healthy Check-Up reveals jobs boom for regional Australia
The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) has today unveiled its Healthy Check-Up that shines the regional spotlight on Australia’s fastest growing industry – healthcare and social assistance.
Speaking at the National Rural Health Conference in Hobart today, RAI co-CEO Dr Kim Houghton says this industry alone will see the biggest growth in job numbers of any industry over the next 5 years, with 250,000 more jobs projected nationwide by May 2023.
“This presents a huge opportunity for job seekers in regional Australia, with our communities expected to see more than 34 % of those jobs – which equates to 85,000 new roles,” Dr Houghton said.
“This sector already accounts for 12.5% of high-income jobs in regional Australia, which are those roles paying more than $104,000.
“Our Healthy Check-Up is a simple way to illustrate the economic value and contribution this sector has in our regional communities, covering more than 14 percent of people already employed,” Dr Kim Houghton said.
“At the RAI, we are encouraging more regions to put this industry on the radar of their regional economic strategies, as it is a significant employer with great growth potential,” Dr Houghton said.
“Over the next five years, we are going to see significant demand for workers across the country, with registered nurses, child care workers and aged care staff topping the list of occupations,” Dr Houghton said.
Dr Houghton said other areas of need will be for welfare workers, psychologists, general practitioners and physiotherapists.
While many of these roles will require high skill levels (University Degree), the industry also offers lower skilled entry level positions to regional workers. In addition, the industry is also supported by a range of entry level and lower skilled non-health occupations such as cooks, cleaners, receptionists and office managers who all provide essential services.
Latest figures show the Top 3 projected growth regions for healthcare and social assistance jobs are:
- Newcastle and Lake Macquarie 6585 jobs
- Sunshine Coast 5853
- Gold Coast 5802
The Healthy Check-Up also highlights the economic contribution the healthcare and social assistance industry has on regional towns such as Tamworth and Wagga Wagga – now boasting 17 % of total employment in the industry.
“Health precincts similar to Tamworth and Wagga Wagga are emerging in many regions – with a mix of both private and public jobs,” Dr Houghton said
“The role of these regional centres is to provide more accessible treatment for regional patients and it’s likely to continue to grow with further significant capital investments expected in this sector – both public and private,” Dr Houghton said.
For information regarding jobs available right now in your region, go to the RAI Regional Jobs Vacancy Map.
Health will be one of the key topics at next week’s Regions Rising National Summit in Canberra. For more information about Regions Rising 2019, please go to regionsrising.regionalaustralia.org.au
For all media enquiries please contact:
Amanda Barwick
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