Skills in demand within the industry are evolving, with inventory and warehousing, and heavy equipment operation the most in-demand industry-specific skills.
Industry-specific skill demand
The most in-demand skills are inventory and warehousing, heavy equipment operation and sales management. Communication, initiative and leadership, and personal attributes (e.g. right attitude/mindset) are also important, with 80 per cent of job advertisements within the industry mentioning one or more of these skills.
Most mentioned industry-specific skills in 2024 as a share of job advertisements
Industry-specific skill | Share of job ads |
|---|---|
Inventory and warehousing | 23.2% |
Heavy equipment operation | 20.1% |
Sales management | 15.6% |
Agriculture and crop | 14.3% |
Merchandising | 14.3% |
Product development | 11.6% |
Supply chain management | 11.2% |
Company, product, and | 10.7% |
Agricultural research and | 8.5% |
Material handling | 7.1% |
Growing skills mentions within the industry
Skills increasingly being mentioned in job advertisements within the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry are occupational health and safety, machinery and livestock farming.
Note: these exclude industry-specific skills already identified as being in high demand.
Growing skills as a percentage point difference in job advertisement mentions from 2019 to 2024
Industry-specific skill | Percentage of job ad mentions in 2019 | Percentage of job ad mentions in 2024 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Occupational health and safety | 4.0% | 8.8% | 4.8% |
Machinery | 9.0% | 13.4% | 4.4% |
Livestock farming | 2.3% | 5.2% | 2.9% |
Animal care | 3.5% | 6.4% | 2.9% |
Groundskeeping and yard care | 28.7% | 31.5% | 2.7% |
Landscaping and horticulture | 20.5% | 23.1% | 2.6% |
Equipment repair and maintenance | 0.9% | 3.1% | 2.2% |
Business operations | 2.3% | 4.3% | 2.0% |
Food science and processing | 2.9% | 4.8% | 1.9% |
Scheduling | 0.2% | 1.9% | 1.8% |
Updated