By Kate Southam

The child care sector, veterinary services, “integrated” logistics, the health sector and the finance sector offer the strongest employment and salary outlook over the next five years.

The top five sectors were identified by business information analysts IBISWorld in a major study. IBISWorld claims each sector is “crying out for skilled workers” and its general manager in Australia Robert Bryant says young people should use the research to help them make career pathway decisions.

“It might seem glamorous for instance to study criminology or marine biology, but not everyone who undertakes this type of study is going to land a job. This is why we’re advising school leavers to be realistic and thorough when investigating their future education preferences,” says Bryant.

According to IBISWorld projections:

IBISWorld’s “Top 5” sectors for jobs growth in 2010 and beyond

< td>26.4 per cent

 
Child Care Services

Shortages already exist in the child care sector where low wages have been typical.

Bryant says new regulations designed to boost staff-to-child ratios and improve child care workers’ qualification levels are expected to drive up wages and employment growth for skilled staff.

“These legislative changes will come on line progressively over the next five years, increasing wage costs as operators will have to employ more staff – and pay higher rates for staff with further qualifications.

The down side for the industry will be the fact some providers may struggle to comply with legislative requirements due to reported staff shortages, especially in the face of high demand for low-cost child care,” said Mr Bryant.

He forecasts employment growth for the industry of 27 per cent in the years to 2016, with wages growth around 4.2 per cent.

Veterinary Services

Employment growth of around 26.4 per cent is expected in the veterinary services sector over the next five years largely as a result of the broader range of pet services offered by the sector including chiropractics, ophthalmology, dentistry and dermatology.

“We’re seeing a strong and ongoing trend of people spending more on their pets [to] improve their lives and prolong the time they’re with us. As a result, both veterinarians and veterinary nurses are in high demand, with wages growth tipped at around 4.5 per cent per annum.”

Integrated Logistics

Almost everything that is made, mined, grown or imported into Australia needs to be transported, stored and distributed and our transport and logistics industry is currently worth more than $100 billion dollars.

“This is a sector which has slowly been transformed from dusty warehouses and casual truckies to a sophisticated, hi-tech industry with integrated logistics networks employing around 370,000 [people],” says Bryant.

 “Growth in international trade has reshaped these networks, which have become increasingly complex and therefore require highly skilled and well trained logistics managers.”

“Limited tertiary courses in this field and strong growth in demand has resulted in an undersupply of skilled labour. We anticipate employment growth over the next five years of 22.7 per cent with wages growth of around 2.5 per cent per year.”

Health

Demand for qualified surgeons, anaesthetists, occupational therapists, medical technicians, radiologists, paediatricians and ambulance officers is expected to keep growing.

“Employment growth in general hospitals will be around 18.2 per cent over the next five years, while wages growth will be lower, at 3.9 per cent,” says Bryant.

“Physiotherapists will enjoy higher wages growth of 6.2 per cent and employment growth of 15.9 per cent as the sub-sector continues to benefit from rising popularity among the over-65s.”

“Physiotherapists are in particularly high demand to manage conditions that become more prevalent with age, such as cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, arthritis and musculoskeletal problems,” he says adding that “growth in household disposable incomes will further promote growth in this industry”.

The development of specialised physiotherapy practices is likely to promote overall demand and drive up wages and the industry’s association has created a new profession – physiotherapy assistants – to maximise the utilisation of qualified physiotherapists’ skills and reduce the impact of workforce attrition.

Finance

Employing over 200,000 people in more than 15,000 firms, IBISWorld expects growing household wealth, more funds under management, and the provision of an increasing array of financial services and products, to see industry revenue grow at an annualised rate of 5.1 per cent over the next five years to reach $230.7 billion in 2015-2016.

Overall employment growth is only 1.8 per cent but some sub-sectors are showing strong growth.

The Securitisation industry has a projected employment growth rate of 29 per cent between 2011 and 2016 and an annualised wage growth of 20.8 per cent.

The Share Registry Services industry has a projected employment growth rate of 27.6 per cent between 2011 and 2016 and an annualised wage growth rate of 8.2 per cent.

Mortgage Broking has a projected employment growth rate of 24 per cent between 2011 and 2016 and annualised wage growth of 4.9 per cent.

Foreign Banking has a projected employment growth of 19.1 per cent between 2011 and 2016 and annualised wage growth of 9.6 per cent.

Superannuation Fund Management has a projected employment growth of 18.3 per cent between 2011 and 2016 and annualised wage growth of 6.5 per cent.

IBISWorld says roles with strong growth projections include buiness analysts, dealers, bankers and risk managers.

The sectors tipped for the biggest jobs growth over the next five years are child care services, veterinary services, integrated logistics, health and finance, according to business information analysts IBISWorld.

The child care sector will see annualised growth of 4.9 per cent between 2011 and 2016, or total growth of 27 per cent, says IBISWorld general manager (Australia) Robert Bryant. Over the same period, overall expenditure on wages will grow by about 4.2 per cent annually.

The growth will be driven primarily by new regulations around staff-to-child ratios, while mandated qualification levels will boost salaries, Bryant says.

Employment growth of around 26.4 per cent (4.8% annually) in the veterinary services sector will largely result from the industry’s diversification into specialist pet healthcare fields, including chiropractics, ophthalmology, dentistry and dermatology. Overall wages are expected to rise by about 4.5 per cent a year.

In integrated logistics, jobs are tipped to grow by around 4.2 per cent a year (22.7% total growth), and wages at a more modest 2.5 per cent. Bryant says the industry has slowly been transformed "from dusty warehouses and casual truckies to a sophisticated, high-tech industry… employing around 370,000 Australians".

He says limited tertiary courses in the field and strong growth in demand has resulted in an undersupply of skilled labour.

The health sector should see employment grow by about 16.6 per cent (including 18.2% in hospitals, and 15.9% in physiotherapy). Wages growth will be lower, at 3.9 per cent, (6.2% in physiotherapy).

The ageing population is driving the growth, Bryant says, as will growth in household d
isposable incomes.

Finally, in finance, wages growth is expected at about 5.9 per cent a year, and jobs by 1.8 per cent (9.4% total). Bryant says that while the latter figure might not seem strong, some core sub-sectors are "brimming with activity".

These include securitisation (with employment growth predicted at 29% by 2016 and annualised wages growth of 20.8%); shared registry services (27.6% and 8.2%); mortgage broking (24% and 4.9%); foreign banking (19.1% and 9.6%); and superannuation fund management (18.3% and 6.5%).

Article from CareerOne, December 1,  2010.