Health care and social assistance skills and workforce snapshot
Workforce overview
Victoria’s largest employing industry:
- 595,000 people employed
- 15.8% of the Victorian workforce.
Top employing jobs in the industry:
- Registered nurses
- Aged and disabled carers.
Workforce profile
- Predominantly female and culturally diverse workforce
- Higher proportion of workforce is aged 50 or over (33% compared to 29% statewide)
- A higher share of workers hold a higher‑education qualification (56%) compared with 41% statewide.
Projections
Victoria’s top growing industry:
- 90,000 new workers expected by 2028
- Growing at a rate of 2.8% per year to 2028 – higher than the state average
- Social assistance services industry subdivision is expecting the highest share of new workers.
Top growing jobs in the industry are:
- Ageing and disability carers, +14,800 workers by 2028
- Registered nurses, +9,300 workers by 2028.
Regional outlook
Regions expecting the highest share of new workers:
- Melbourne: Inner metropolitan Melbourne and Northern metropolitan Melbourne
- Regional Victoria: Barwon and Gippsland.
Skills demand
The occupations in highest demand in the industry have diverse skill requirements:
- Higher skilled jobs are aligned with higher retention rates and higher median earnings.
Most in-demand industry specific skills:
- Nursing and patient care
- General medicine.
Skills supply
Popular vocational education and training courses:
- Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
- Certificate IV in Disability Support.
Popular university study areas:
- General nursing
- Paramedical studies.
Updated