General sales practices are the most sought-after skill, while process improvement and optimisation skills are growing fastest in job advertisement mentions.
Industry-specific skill demand
The most in-demand skills are general sales practices, inventory and warehousing and merchandising. Communication, initiative and leadership, and personal attributes (e.g. right attitude/mindset) are also important, with over 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 |
|---|---|
General sales practices | 49.4% |
Inventory and warehousing | 20.1% |
Merchandising | 12.7% |
Retail sales | 10.0% |
Sales management | 9.3% |
Heavy equipment operation | 7.5% |
Market analysis | 7.4% |
Supply chain management | 7.1% |
Brand management | 5.7% |
Accounts payable and | 5.4% |
Growing skills mentions within the industry
Skills increasingly being mentioned in job advertisements in the wholesale trade industry are process improvements and optimisation, business analysis, and project management.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Process improvement and optimisation | 9.2% | 23.8% | 14.6% |
Business analysis | 2.9% | 8.6% | 5.7% |
Project management | 4.3% | 9.5% | 5.2% |
Occupational health and safety | 0.8% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
Customer relationship management (CRM) | 5.1% | 10.1% | 5.0% |
General finance | 4.3% | 8.3% | 4.0% |
Billing and invoicing | 2.5% | 5.6% | 3.0% |
Procurement | 4.2% | 7.0% | 2.8% |
Data analysis | 3.3% | 5.5% | 2.2% |
Marketing strategy and techniques | 17.2% | 19.3% | 2.1% |
Updated