By Rachel Kerrigan, Workforce Planning Lead, Future Skills Organisation

Australia could have 3.5 million skilled professionals in finance, technology, and business by 2030 — an increase of nearly 450,000 roles.

But reaching this potential won’t happen without focused effort. Australia’s current approach is unlikely to meet future demand, with a projected shortfall of almost 250,000 workers by 2030, impacting the ability of businesses to innovate, compete, and grow.

Technology jobs account for more than half of this gap (131,000 workers), followed by finance (64,000), and business (48,000).

The full picture is set out in our latest report, Workforce Plan 2025: Pathways to Impact, released this week.

It brings clarity to where the workforce gaps are and sets out practical solutions to address them — from strengthening learning pathways to embedding digital skills across every level of the workforce.

The priorities detailed in the report have shaped our program of work, designed to close urgent skills gaps quickly, deliver impact at scale, and help build a future-fit workforce.

Unlocking the opportunity

To close the projected shortfall and unlock the opportunity, Australia must act across multiple fronts.

As digital skills become essential across all industries, there is a growing need to strengthen both generalist and specialist capabilities, particularly in critical areas such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and software development to future-proof the workforce.

At the same time, learning pathways need to become faster, clearer and more flexible to better connect education and training with industry needs.

The report also calls for greater focus on reskilling and upskilling, especially for mid-career Australians who are ready to transition into future-focused roles.

At a system level, declining completions in higher education and vocational training must be reversed, and we must focus on reducing attrition across both training and employment to retain talent.

Migration will also play an important role, with around one in four finance, tech, and business professionals currently holding a visa.

Navigating what’s ahead

Whether you’re guiding learners, an employer, shaping policy or planning your next career move, this report offers insights to help you navigate what’s ahead.

Download the report and provide your feedback.

And for the first time we have made the FSO Workforce Dashboards available. They provide a detailed breakdown of the data to help organisations plan ahead with confidence. The dashboards should be viewed in conjunction with the Workforce Plan. Explore the data dashboards.

See what the report means for you and your organisation.