Our greatest asset is our people. Our diverse, highly skilled and multilingual workforce is one of the most educated in the world.
Australian workers are highly skilled, thanks to an excellent education system, quality scientific research institutions, and availability of specialised training services.
And we’re globally connected.
Around one in three Australians were born overseas, putting Australia well ahead of the OECD average, and above Canada, Germany, the UK, the US and France for cultural diversity. With a high proportion of skilled migrants, Australia’s workforce has a wide range of language and culturally appropriate business skills that give Australia the edge in cross-border business.
Companies that relocate to Australia can choose from a pool of digital-savvy, culturally sensitive and multilingual talent. You’ll find employees to support business innovation, service customers around the world and help you expand into growing markets.
Australia ranks 4th in the OECD for our capacity to attract and retain highly educated workers
Almost half of Australia’s workforce has a tertiary qualification, meaning an advanced diploma/diploma or higher
Putting energy into services
Approximately 78% of Australia’s workforce is employed in the services sector. In some sectors, more than 60% of the workforce holds a tertiary qualification. High-skill sectors include scientific and technical services, financial and insurance services, and health and life sciences.
Australia ranks 4th in the world for the number of universities in the top 100
Source: Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities
Prioritising women in STEM
A talented workforce is a diverse one. To supercharge our national prosperity, Australia is prioritising the talent, skills and diverse perspectives of women in STEM. In particular, Australia’s tech sector will need to attract 6.5 million new workers over the next four years – and we’re on a mission to ensure a large majority of them are women. We've joined forces with global diversity and inclusion consultancy The Dream Collective to help make this vision a reality. The SheDares initiative offers a free online learning experience that equips women to pivot into the tech industry. It’s also connecting talented women from overseas with exciting opportunities in Australia’s fast-growing tech sector.
The Superstars of STEM program, an initiative of Science and Technology Australia, is working to smash gender stereotypes and elevate the public profile of women in STEM. The aim of the program is boost the visibility of women in STEM – based on the premise that ‘you cannot be what you cannot see’. This Government-funded program provides high quality media training and networking opportunities to build participants’ professional profiles and boost their career success.
Australia may be a long commute from most places, but it manages to stay well connected and a global leader in many areas of research and technology development.
Australia is simply a paradise to live and work in, for a young family to grow with amazing opportunities and Aussie mateship.
With a drive to push boundaries, we seek and provide opportunities for improvement and growth in Australia, where I’m grateful that my responsibilities as an academic and a Superstar of STEM help me to play an effective part in supporting younger generations.
This is an exciting time for scientists, engineers and researchers in Australia from all cultural backgrounds. With access to world-class facilities and research, international collaboration, a great work-life balance and, of course, the wonderful and vibrant Australian lifestyle, I hope you will join us.
The space sector is just starting to boom, and there is an increasing focus on innovation and sustainability ... opportunities abound, and this is definitely a place to have at the top of your list!
I have felt secure to focus on my family when needed and extremely well supported by my employer to continue my rewarding work through periods of uncertainty. Here in Australia, I have found the work-life balance that had previously eluded me.
Australia ranks 5th in our region for seizing opportunity from technology
Australia is most popular work destination in the Asia-Pacific, and the 3rd most popular globally
Australia’s workforce at a glance
- Ranked in the top 10, globally, for the availability of skilled labour
- A culturally diverse workforce, with approximately 30% of workers born overseas
- Sustained periods where labour-productivity growth exceeds growth in real wages
- A multicultural population, where 2.1 million Australians also speak an Asian language and 1.3 million also speak a European language
