Developing Western Australia's workforce

About the Department

The Department of Training and Workforce Development was established by the Western Australian Government in 2009 as the State’s lead agency for workforce planning and development. Workforce planning and development is the process of determining skills and labour market needs in response to demographic, economic and labour market conditions and other challenges that ongoing change brings. It involves designing and delivering strategies, policies and actions that maximise opportunities for building, attracting and retaining a skilled and capable workforce. We are leading and coordinating workforce planning and development strategies and driving a responsive and flexible training system through a range of strategies and programs, as outlined below.

Free support and assistance

Jobs and Skills Centres (JSCs) offer free support and assistance with planning and developing your workforce. Services include support with recruitment, identifying your training needs, establishing a workforce development plan, finding an employee (including apprentices or trainees), and assistance with accessing financial incentives. JSCs are located throughout Perth and across regional WA. Call your local centre on 13 64 64, or visit the Jobs & Skills WA website to find out more.

Employer financial incentives and support

The Department of Training and Workforce Development, through the WA State Government, offers a range of financial incentives and support to employers for employment and training.

Apprenticeships and traineeships

Apprenticeships and traineeships combine practical experience at work with structured training. Apprenticeships generally include traditional technical trades such as bricklaying and cabinet making. Traineeships are usually in non-trade areas such as hospitality, business and health. Both are available to people of all ages. Most can be undertaken on a full time or part time basis, and many can be started at school. At the same time, incentives for employers have increased and training is more flexible.

The Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) providers, contracted by the Australian Government, help employers navigate through apprenticeship and traineeship contract arrangements and support employers to find an apprentice or trainee.

An Out of Contract Register has been established on the Jobs & Skills WA website, to assist apprentices and trainees who have recently had their training contract terminated or cancelled but are seeking to continue their training with another employer. Through employing an out of contract apprentice or trainee, you benefit by getting someone who is already part way through their training and can bring skills and experience to your team. The register lists out of contract apprentices and trainees in metropolitan and regional Western Australia. You can search for an apprentice or trainee that matches with your job needs, and we will then assist you to connect with that person to discuss your employment opportunity.

Industry training councils (ITCs)

ITCs represent specific industry areas and play a vital leadership role in WA's workforce planning and development. ITCs work closely with key stakeholders including peak employer, employee and industry organisations.

In addition to advising the State Training Board and the Department of Training and Workforce Development about attracting, retaining and skilling a capable and sustainable workforce, the ITCs provide:

• high level, strategic information and advice that informs the State Training Board on the training needs and priorities of industry in Western Australia;
• market intelligence on skills supply and demand, in particular current or emerging skills shortages; and
• recommendations for training strategies that support industry's skills development needs.

ITCs also have a central role in the development of quality vocational and education training curriculum to ensure that the skills and knowledge gained through training is aligned with current industry competencies and requirements. A full list of WA ITCs is available on the WA State Training Board website.

Existing worker traineeships (EWTs)

EWTs are designed specifically for organisations who wish to grow their workforce's skills and knowledge through training. EWTs combine formal study with on the job learning, and there's a range of qualifications available in areas such as information technology, construction, cyber security, community services, defence, and more. EWTs save employers money on recruitment by upskilling the staff you already have, and offer career progression and leadership pathways through nationally recognised and accredited training.

Fee-free and reduced-fee training

If you're looking for training to upskill your workforce and build your business capacity for the future, there's never been a better time to get into training, with free and reduced-fee vocational education and training (VET) now available through the WA State Government's Skills Ready program. There's a wide range of fee-free qualifications and short course skill sets now available. There's also a large range of full qualifications available with course fees reduced by half or more.

Industry information and intelligence

The Department, through our State Workforce Planning branch, sources information on skills supply and demand, workforce development issues, current emerging skills shortages and other related intelligence from a wide range of sources. This includes liaison with peak industry bodies, businesses, non-government organisations and many other stakeholders. In particular, WA has industry training advisory arrangements in place with eight training councils, each covering a particular industry sector of the economy. Labour market information for Perth and WA regions is available in our regional snapshots.

Labour market outlook

The importance of retaining a flexible approach to the planning and purchasing of training delivery is imperative. There are substantial risks and inherent uncertainties associated with producing forecasts for an economy and there will always be differences between the forecasts of key aggregates and the final audited results. This is exacerbated more with the unprecedented impact on the global, national and state economies and the level of uncertainty associated with the future trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak of COVID-19 halted momentum that was building in the WA economy prior to the pandemic. While there has been uncertainty around COVID recovery, and despite initial sharp falls in activity, WA's economy is recovering. Some industries and cohorts are likely to recover much faster than others, while the unwinding of dedicated stimulus measures may also impact the rate of improvement. It is noted that in a recovery period, employers may also increase the hours of existing workers rather than recruit new workers, hence limiting the number of opportunities for new entrants into the labour market. For this reason, early career pathways and skilling up the State's young people continues to be a high priority, as this represents a critical stage in the beginnings of any person's career development and future work engagement. Further to this current and emerging innovation and technology advances are changing the nature of work and impacting the demand for skills. Given the degrees of uncertainty around the State's labour market outlook and the dynamics described above, the importance of retaining a flexible approach to the planning and purchasing of training delivery is imperative.

Developing WA's regions

Following the Regional Skills Summits held in 2021, work is continuing to support strong and sustainable workforces across Western Australia. A network of key industry, community and government stakeholders are working together through collaborations and partnerships to progress practical actions to support building a local workforce for local jobs. Twelve Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs) are in place across the State, supporting regional communities to implement new practical and place-based actions with a focus on local solutions to local issues. Regional training and employment trends including labour market data is available for each of Western Australia's nine regions, and Perth, through an interactive regional snapshot.

Priority Start

Priority Start aims to ensure a sustainable construction trades workforce for WA by increasing the overall numbers of apprentices and trainees in the building and construction industry. Priority Start came into effect in Western Australia in April 2019 to maximise opportunities for apprentices and trainees on all major State Government funded building, construction and maintenance contracts. To achieve this, the policy requires companies awarded State Government building construction, civil construction and maintenance contracts valued over $5 million (including GST) to meet the industry's average target training rate for apprentices and trainees.