I saw this story recently and thought the occupation of ‘Toolmaker’ might be a great topic for a ‘Skills in Shortage’ series blog post.
For many reasons, there is a lot of discussion in Australia about strengthening the local manufacturing industry. Without a strong manufacturing industry, particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals, defense, food and consumer goods, and energy production, it is difficult for a country to maintain a level of independence and self-sufficiency.
There are many occupations, however, which are needed to support a manufacturing industry, and many of those occupations have been neglected in Australia for some time. When an occupation is neglected, it isn’t promoted to young people, and young people choose other occupations to study and train for. Over time, there are fewer people working in those occupations, and the services those occupations provide are no longer available.
This means that developing (or re-developing) the Australian manufacturing sector will require the support of skilled tradespeople and professionals who are currently working overseas.
With the demise of a number of manufacturing industries in Australia, perhaps the best-known of these being the automotive industry, the occupation of Toolmaker has been one field that has been neglected. As a result, if ‘made in Australia’ is going to become a focus for Australian leaders, then it follows that there are likely to be opportunities to work (and, in some cases, to live permanently) in Australia, for skilled Toolmakers.
If you are a Toolmaker, and you are interested in being able to work in Australia, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
