Industry insights on skills needs
According to the Property Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast the top generic skills for the Property Services industry as a whole, and therefore for the Cleaning, Pest Control and Waste Management sector, are:
- Managerial / Leadership
- Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) (Foundation skills)
- Customer service / Marketing
- Financial
- Technology.
According to job vacancy data, the top generic skills in demand in the Cleaning, Pest Control and Waste Management sector are:
- Communication skills
- Detail oriented
- Time management
- Organisational skills
- Planning.
In addition, the job vacancy data identifies the most in-demand occupations as: Domestic Cleaners, Commercial Cleaners, Labourers, Truck Driver (general), and Greenkeeper. The top employers for the sector include: ISS Facility Services, Cleanaway, Opal, Menzies Group and Wyndham Destinations.
The Property Services IRC’s 2020 Skills Forecast identifies a demand for new and emerging skills in: infection and disaster cleaning, mould cleaning, robotic cleaning technologies, performance based contract cleaning, nontoxic cleaning and cleaning management in green buildings. The skills forecast notes that a proportion of short-term cleaning sector employees are unlikely to have training as the position of Cleaner is unlicensed.
The 2018 National Waste Policy identifies the need for a change to a circular economy, supporting resource recovery and recycling, and reducing the generation of waste. It highlights an opportunity for jobs growth with increased recycling levels, with 9.2 jobs created for every 10,000 tonnes of waste recycled compared to 2.8 for the same amount sent to landfill. The policy also notes that while the amount of waste produced per capita is decreasing, the quantity of waste produced nationally is increasing overall due to increasing population.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, in the 2018-19 financial year Australia generated 76 million tonnes of waste and spent $17 billion on waste services. Although 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated, only 9% was sent for recycling (227,000 tonnes), while 84% was sent to landfill (2.1 million tonnes). Households were the largest contributor, supplying 47% of all plastic waste (1.2 million tonnes).
In the 2018 report, Analysis of Australia’s municipal recycling infrastructure capacity by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, contamination is a running theme affecting waste recycling. China’s restrictions on waste imports are identified as impacting the sector, as previously this accounted for 35% of our recyclable plastics and 30% of our recyclable paper and cardboard. Access to municipal waste collection is also identified as an issue, with inconsistent access to collection for different types of waste across jurisdictions. Organic waste collection is of particular note, as 58% of households do not have access to kerbside organic waste collection.
The National Waste and Recycling Industry Council’s report From Waste to Value: the Australian Waste & Resource Recovery Industry reveals in 2018-19 the waste and resource recovery industry supported both directly and indirectly over 106,500 jobs, and helped recover over 40 million tonnes of waste materials annually. Over half of all waste is channelled into productive use through recycling, composting and energy recovery, returning approximately $2.9 billion worth of materials back into productive circulation. The report also notes that over a five year period to 30 June 2019 the number jobs in the industry held by females more than doubled; however male employees still outnumbered females by four to one.
A Parliamentary report on the waste and recycling industry in Australia recommended, among other points, a phase out process for single use plastic, a national container deposit scheme and mandatory product stewardship schemes for products such as tyres or e-waste. These suggestions, as well as others in the report, are intended to reduce non-recyclable waste and create stronger incentives to reclaim material from landfill for recycling.
The National Waste Report 2020 explores some of the current and emerging challenges faced by the waste sector, including COVID-19 pandemic, export bans on some recovered materials (such as waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres that have not been processed into a value-added material), climate change responses and the role of single-use plastic.
The report Supporting the circular economy: South Australia’s waste strategy reveals South Australia’s target of zero avoidable waste to landfill by 2030 aims to stimulate action towards a circular economy. The potential benefits of a circular economy include local job creation and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This strategy will build upon current policy initiatives and activities designed to reduce waste, improve material and energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Strategy promises to ensure high-impact and specific action in new directions including food waste and single-use plastics, regulatory waste reforms, education and behaviour change, and, importantly, supporting market development and remanufacturing.
The Property Services IRC’s 2018 Skills Forecast suggests urbanisations, regulation and sustainability are key factors impacting this sector currently. Urbanisation and connected population growth are creating higher density suburbs, driving up volumes of waste. This increase may also be leading to more efficiency in waste collection, meaning it does not necessarily translate into job growth. However, this urbanisation is likely to create growth in pest management, with higher population density often leading to more pests and therefore an increased demand for eradication. Government regulation aims at encouraging recycling has acted as a constraint on demand for waste disposal. Landfill levies and recycling targets are examples of policy changes that will impact the waste management areas of this sector.
The ACFIPS Annual Report revealed a key issue impacting the urban pest management sector in New South Wales included the decline in the Urban Pest Management Certificate III between 2018-19. However, traineeships have increased significantly in 2020 and 2021, potentially due to wage subsidies brought on by COVID-19 recovery plans. The report also notes that developing course materials is challenging as some operators aren’t involved in large scale industry.
