This page provides information and data on the Technicians Support Services workforce. Technicians Support Services is a diverse workforce and includes the following sub-sectors:
The Technicians Support Services Industry Reference Committee (IRC) has responsibility for sixteen qualifications within the HLT – Health Training Package, aligned to the following occupations:
Workers in the roles under the remit of the Technicians Support Services IRC operate in an array of health care and social assistance sectors, and subsequently include a range of multi-levelled and multi-skilled job roles. These job roles may be involved in undertaking administrative, supportive, operational (i.e. technician) and/or supervisory activities. Businesses operating in the service areas outlined above include a range of public and private small, medium and large enterprises, spread across the country.
Overall, demand for workers in the health care and social assistance industry workforce is expected to continue, given the COVID-19 pandemic and Australia’s ageing population, according to the Australian Jobs 2021. This growth will undoubtedly include many job roles supported by these Training Package Products.
For information on other health-related training and employment, visit the Health industry page and the various sectors.
All data sources are available at the end of the page.
Overall, employment levels across the occupations related to Technicians Support Services qualifications have increased between 2002 and 2022. Projections from 2022 to 2026 indicate employment levels will increase for Health and Welfare Services Managers, Medical Technicians and Nursing and Personal Care Workers. However, the projection for Practice Managers indicates the employment level will decrease by 2026.
Program enrolments in Technicians Support Services-related qualifications increased between 2017 and 2021, from approximately 14,210 to 21,710. Overall, program completions also increased between 2017 and 2021, from approximately 4,390 to 6,010 despite a sharp decline in 2020 to approximately 4,500.
Nearly two thirds of program enrolments in 2021 (64%) were at certificate III level, followed by 28% at certificate IV level and 8% at diploma or higher level. Program enrolments in the Technicians Support Services sector are spread across several qualification clusters, with higher proportions in Pathology (37%), Health Administration (32%) and Sterilisation Services (12%). The main intended occupations were Pathology Collector, followed by Medical Receptionist and Health Practice Manager.
Overall, more than 95% of training delivered in 2021 was delivered by private training providers (54%) and TAFE institutes (41%). However, there was considerable variation depending on the different qualification clusters. For example, private training providers delivered all of Operating Theatre Technical Support qualifications, whereas TAFE institutes delivered all the training for Audiometry and Hearing Device Prescription and Evaluation qualifications and Anaesthetic Technology.
More than three-quarters (76%) of training was government funded in 2021, with nearly a quarter (22%) funded by domestic fee for service arrangements.
In 2021, New South Wales had the highest proportion of students enrolled in Technicians Support Services-related training (39%), followed by Victoria (24%) and Queensland (20%). The highest proportion of training was delivered in New South Wales (40%), with Victoria (24%) and Queensland (23%) delivering similar proportions.
Commencements in apprenticeships and traineeships declined between 2012 and 2016 before increasing between 2017 and 2021. There were more than 1,120 commencements in 2021. Completions also declined, although the downward trend extended from 2012 to 2018. Completions rose in 2019 and 2020, before a drop in 2021, to approximately 190.
The main intended occupation for apprenticeships and traineeships in Technicians Support Services-related qualifications was Optical Dispenser. In 2021, New South Wales had the highest proportion of apprentices and trainees in training (39%), followed by Victoria (20%) and Queensland (15%).
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The Technicians Support Services IRC's Skills Forecast – 2020 update (hereafter 2020 Annual Update) was the most recent industry skills forecast published by the IRC, as at September 2022. It identified the top five short-to-medium term skills considered important across the workforce supported by the Technicians Support Services Training Package as communication, capacity to learn, emotional intelligence, flexibility, and resilience or stress tolerance.
According to the Medical Technicians job vacancy data, the top requested skills by employers were communication skills and detail orientated. The most advertised positions were Laboratory Technician, followed by Laboratory Assistant. The top employers were the New South Wales Government and the Government of Victoria.
The 2020 Annual Update reported that the wide range of health care and social assistance roles across the sector were impacted by COVID-19 in different ways (further information below). The other main challenges Technicians Support Services workforce face were advances in technology, access to skilled workers with practical experience and a lack of career progression.
The 2020 Annual Update reported new technology was being continually introduced into practice, which required the ability to learn, operate new equipment and adopt new procedures. In the health sector, there was increased emphasis on the quality of service and customer experience, and alongside this, technology could help reduce the invasiveness of various procedures. The introduction of new technologies also impacts the equipment used in health assessments, health administration as well as the devices people use to monitor their own health. As such, digital skills and knowledge were becoming increasingly important for job roles with the technicians support services sector.
The Pharmacy Forecast Australia 2022 stated that 60% of survey respondents assessed that more formalised training in related technology field as somewhat or very likely to occur by 2021, and recommended that the workforce upskilling in technology.
Some employers reported they were experiencing difficulties in hiring skilled staff due to a shortage of skilled workers, limited applicants, a lack of existing workers with appropriate skills and an unwillingness to work nights, weekends or shifts. Evidence of shortages of certain skilled workers, such as anaesthetic technician, cardiac technician and medical laboratory technician, could be seen at the time in the listing of these job roles as Skilled Occupations by the Australian Government.
The need for new workers to have relevant technical skills and knowledge continued to be a challenge. Further, a lack of placement opportunities and resources to enable student supervision made it difficult for student to gain the practical experience required to complete a qualification and take up a job role. In regional and rural areas, the opportunities to gain on-the-job experience required is further exacerbated, adding to challenges to complete a qualification.
Further, the 2020 Annual Update reported the shortage of skilled workers in the sector was also due to an ageing workforce. With a significant number of workers moving into retirement, the number of workers with required skills, knowledge and experience was reducing. This shift also impacted the number of experienced workers available to share their knowledge with new entrants to the sector and job roles.
Across the Technicians Support Services workforce, the lack of career progression and retention of staff continued to be areas of concern. Access to training linked to clear career pathways was put forward as being beneficial to ensuring assistants and technicians were provided with opportunities to enhance their skills and grow within the sector. This was an area being reviewed as part of the Technicians Support Services Training Package.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many sectors significantly, with increased scrutiny on infection control, sterilisation practices and hygiene. In many workplaces, additional measures were put in place in response to COVID-19 to improve or reinforce practices to improve infection control and help keep patients and the workforce safe.
For further information about COVID-19 education and practice guidelines for the Technicians Support Services workforce, please refer to government departments and industry bodies listed below under Links and resources.
Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.
Australian Jobs 2021 – National Skills Commission and National Careers Institute
Pharmacy Forecast Australia 2022 – Society of Hospital Pharmacies of Australia and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Australian Government Department of Defence
Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
Northern Territory Government Department of Health
Tasmanian Government Department of Health
Victoria Government Department of Health and Human Services
Western Australia Government Department of Health
Australian Anaesthesia Allied Health Practitioners (AAAHP)
Australian Association of Practice Management (AAPM)
Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA)
Federation of Sterilizing Research and Advisory Councils of Australia (FSRACA)
Hearing Aid Audiology Society of Australia (HAASA)
The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA)
The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA)
National Skills Commission 2022, Occupation Employment Projections viewed 10 August 2022, https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/topics/employment-projections
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2022, 6291.0.55.001 - EQ08 - Employed persons by Occupation unit group of main job (ANZSCO), Sex, State and Territory, August 1986 onwards, viewed 1 August 2022, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/may-2022
Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training package or qualifications:
This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.
Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:
Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.
Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.
Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.
HLT – Health Training Package apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:
Job vacancy data have been extracted from Lightcast 2022, Labor Insight Real-time Labor Market Information Tool, Boston, viewed August 2022, https://lightcast.io/apac.
Data shown represent most requested generic skills and employers according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2019 and June 2021 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.
ANZSCO occupations have been used as industry filters because they provide more relevant job vacancy data for this sector.
