Industry insights on skills needs
According to job advertisements, the most in-demand VET-related occupation for the Food Product and Beverage Manufacturing industries were Bakers and Pastrycooks, followed by Sales Representatives.
This same job vacancy data indicates that the top generic skills in demand from employers in this industry are communication skills and to be detail orientated, with the main employers listed as Banjo’s Bakery Café, Goodman Fielder and Nestle.
The Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical IRC recently updated many of the units of competency for the food and beverage industry, with substantial revisions made to 85% of food and beverage qualifications since 2019. The units were updated as part of national projects that underwent consultation with industry and training providers.
The main industry developments identified in the Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical IRC’s 2021 Skills Forecast related to:
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Economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19: The pandemic has disrupted every sector of the Australian food, beverage and pharmaceutical (FBP) industries. The Australian Government announced $1.5 billion in new funding over the next four years, including a $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative for the Modern Manufacturing Strategy to make Australian manufacturers more competitive and resilient. �Food and beverage’ and �medical products’ (which includes pharmaceutical manufacturing) are two of the six National Manufacturing Priorities for projects.
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Pharmaceutical product manufacturing: A new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility specialising in cell-based, vaccine and anti-venom manufacturing was announced by the Federal Government. Following a $1.7 billion supply and production agreement between the Australian Government and pharmaceutical companies, around 84 million vaccine doses of a free COVID-19 vaccine would be manufactured in Australia, requiring cutting-edge processes and high speed to market. The manufacturing process is ongoing, and it is expected an average of one million doses per week will be released over the course of the campaign, subject to regulatory approvals.
Additionally, there is anticipated to be a greater emphasis on formal training due to the pharmaceutical product manufacturing industry’s sustained rate of growth. A Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Operator Induction Skill Set has been released to ensure Australia’s national training system is well positioned to address the workforce challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn. The skill set describes the foundation skills and knowledge used by workers entering the industry, especially those employed to work with bioprocessed products, such as vaccines and antibody testing devices. The skill set will help support displaced workers to gain new skills and build on existing skills, and will also help businesses to take advantage of opportunities that exist now and into the future.
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Consumer trends shaping industry: While COVID-19 is accelerating the emerging consumer focus on health and wellbeing and ethical, sustainably sourced products, there is also a broader trend of caution and selectiveness towards brands that demonstrate purpose, transparency and alignment with consumers’ values. This includes a renewed emphasis on supporting local, independent manufacturing businesses.
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Wine export challenges: Profits have been affected by the closure of bars, restaurants and cellar doors due to COVID-19, and South Australian winemakers experiencing much-reduced yields because of extreme heat, frost, wind, bushfires and smoke taint. In late March 2021, the Chinese Government announced its final decision following investigations of anti-dumping and countervailing duties for Australian bottled wine. The combined duty payable ranges from 116.2% to 218.4%, effectively meaning the market will not be viable for Australian bottled wine for the next five years. It is recognised by the industry that the imposition of tariffs by the Chinese Government will have a widespread impact on wine producers, whether they deal directly with China or not. Businesses will be forced to seek to develop activities in other markets to try to compensate for lost income.
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The National Skills Commission (NSC) and attracting new industry workers: Industry focus is on managing skills surpluses and identifying training options for unemployed workers who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries may be able to capitalise on the availability of people who have been displaced from their usual work and are seeking new opportunities. As well as highlighting reskilling and upskilling options for improving the prospects of people already performing an industry role, the NSC are promoting �skills transferability’ to facilitate clearer pathways between roles in diverse industries that require similar capabilities.
According to A Refreshing Recovery: A Post-Coronavirus Recovery Blueprint for the Australian Drinks Industry, skills shortages in the beverage manufacturing industry are largely impacted by the location of a business operation or manufacturing facility. Finding and retaining workers can be a challenge in regional areas, especially where similar technical skills are also sought by the mining industry. While Australia’s immigration policy has helped provide a pathway for skilled migration to help fill the gap for certain skills, travel restrictions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has ruled out this avenue in the short term. A potential solution to bridge the existing skills gap could be the development of partnerships between industry and education providers. Involvement of the industry in the development of training programs can ensure the right skillsets are being developed to meet industry needs. Consideration must also be given to ensuring that the education sector is providing the right kinds of skillsets for the future, such as automation, high-tech manufacturing, food scientists and food technologists, data analytics, and technical project management, which will be valuable not just in the beverage industry but also across the broader manufacturing industry.
A key industry development identified in the Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical IRC’s 2020 Skills Forecast related to Alternative proteins. Consumer preferences to eat healthier, ethically produced food, and reduce environmental impacts is behind modest year on year growth of alternative proteins, particularly plant-based meat. Non-traditional protein sources such as insects, algal and microbial proteins are also becoming more widely recognised, particularly for their potential as livestock feed.
This view is supported by a recent report by Food Frontier. According to 2020 State of the Industry: Australia's Plant-Based Meat Sector plant-based meats are forecast to command up to 10 percent of the $1.4 trillion global meat market by 2029, up from less than one percent in 2019. Amidst global and domestic upheavals, 2020 saw the Australian plant-based meat sector increase grocery sales 46% the previous year, as well as double domestic manufacturing revenue and jobs.
The growth of this market will be monitored by the IRC, along with researching the need for skills not currently covered in the Training Package. Alternative proteins require skills relating to filtration systems, as well as supply chain and agronomy skills.
The report A Fair Share for Australian Manufacturing: Manufacturing Renewal for the Post-COVID Economy outlines numerous measures must also be taken to address the particular skills challenges facing manufacturing. These include:
- Shift the emphasis of curricula and training programs toward comprehensive and complete qualifications, rather than micro-credentials
- Enhancing the capacities of TAFE teachers in manufacturing fields, and investing in modern capital equipment for training
- Encouraging partnerships on customised joint training initiatives between specific TAFEs and firms or groups of firms
- Developing and implementing higher-level and multi-disciplinary qualifications to reflect emerging skills and composite capacities in advanced manufacturing (in areas such as digital machine control and Industry 4.0/internet-of-things applications in manufacturing)
- Integrate basic literacy and numeracy training into VET offerings at all levels.
