The most in-demand trades in Australia (2026 read)

Nearly half of Australia's trade occupations — 95 of 205, or 46% — are officially short of workers, according to the Australian Government's 2025 Occupation Shortage List (released October 2025, the latest available). Electricians, plumbers, carpenters, motor mechanics and airconditioning mechanics are in shortage in every single state and territory.

That's not our opinion. That's Jobs and Skills Australia's (JSA) own assessment, and it makes trades the most in-demand major group of occupations in the country — ahead of the professions, ahead of everything.

The numbers

All figures below come from the 2025 Occupation Shortage List, published by Jobs and Skills Australia in October 2025. The next list lands late 2026.

• 95 of 205 technicians-and-trades occupations are rated in shortage nationally — 46.3%
• That compares with 39.4% of professional occupations and 29.8% of all 916 rated occupations
• 54 trades have been in shortage nationally every year for five years (2021–2025) and are in shortage in every state and territory on the 2025 list
• JSA's own summary of the 2025 list: shortages eased overall, but "nearly half of trade roles" are still in shortage

The trades in demand everywhere, year after year

Here's our read: if a trade has been short of workers in every state, every year, for five straight years, that's not a blip — that's a structural gap. The kind a young person can build a career on.

Fifty-two trades meet that bar. The standouts, by the kind of work:

Building and construction: Carpenter, Bricklayer, Stonemason, Joiner, Plasterer (Wall and Ceiling), Renderer, Painter, Glazier, Roof Tiler, Wall and Floor Tiler, Floor Finisher.

Electrical and plumbing (the licensed trades): Electrician (General), Electrical Linesworker, Plumber (General), Gasfitter, Drainer, Roof Plumber, Fire Protection Plumber, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic.

Automotive: Motor Mechanic (General), Diesel Motor Mechanic, Automotive Electrician, Motorcycle Mechanic, Panelbeater, Vehicle Painter.

Metal and engineering: Fitter (General), Fitter and Turner, Fitter-Welder, Metal Fabricator, Welder (First Class), Sheetmetal Worker, Metal Machinist (First Class), Locksmith, plus Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (avionics and mechanical).

Food and everyday trades: Baker, Pastrycook, Butcher, Cook, Hairdresser, Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer, Landscape Gardener.

You can explore every one of these — with its state-by-state rating and five-year trend — at /occupations.

Why this matters for your kid

A shortage rating means employers are struggling to fill these jobs at market rates. For a teenager weighing up an apprenticeship, that translates to something concrete: real demand for the qualification at the end of it, in basically every part of the country.

And most of these are skill level 3 occupations — typically a Certificate III through an apprenticeship, earning a wage the whole way through. No student debt required. (Uni's a great road too. It's just never been the only one.)

What this doesn't tell you

Honesty time. A shortage rating is a point-in-time signal about how hard employers found it to fill jobs — it is not a guarantee that any individual who trains will walk into work, and it says nothing about what a specific employer in your town pays.

The list is also state-level at its finest. "In shortage in Queensland" can mean acute demand in Cairns and a competitive market in Brisbane — JSA's regional/metro ratings help (we surface them on every occupation page), but they don't go down to individual towns.

And the 2025 list showed shortages easing overall — 29.8% of occupations in shortage, down from 36.2% in 2023. The trades gap has been far more stubborn than most, which is exactly why we highlight the five-year list rather than a single year. But "in demand now and for five years running" is the strongest claim the data supports. Nobody can honestly promise you 2035.

FAQ

What is the most in-demand trade in Australia?

There's no official #1 — JSA rates occupations as in shortage or not, without ranking. But the licensed construction trades (electricians, plumbers) and automotive trades (motor mechanics, diesel mechanics) are in shortage in every state and territory and have been for five straight years on the 2021–2025 lists, which puts them in the top tier by any honest reading.

Are trades really in higher demand than university jobs?

On the government's 2025 list, yes as a group: 46.3% of trades occupations are in national shortage versus 39.4% of professional occupations. Both are well above the all-occupations average of 29.8%. Plenty of degree careers are in strong demand too — nursing, teaching and engineering among them.

Where does this data come from?

Jobs and Skills Australia's Occupation Shortage List, an annual, official assessment of which occupations employers struggle to fill. We use the 2025 list (released October 2025) and show JSA's ratings as published — anything interpretive, like "five years running," is our analysis of their data, and we label it that way.

Will these trades still be in demand when my kid finishes an apprenticeship?

Nobody can promise that, and we won't. What we can say: 54 trades have been in shortage nationally every year since 2021, through very different economic conditions. Persistent, structural gaps like that don't usually close in the three-to-four years an apprenticeship takes — but that's our read, not a forecast.