AN extra 82,000 workers will be needed in regional Victoria according to the Victorian Government, who released a Skills Plan on Monday to ensure 13 key industries can meet forecasted labour challenges.

The plan highlights nine regional profiles and actions needed to bring skills to the regions.

The Hamilton district falls into the profile of the Great South Coast which currently has 54,700 people employed, but is forecasted to need an additional 5400+ workers in the area by 2025.

The Skills Plan aims to deliver on key recommendations prepared by former Federal minister, the Hon Jenny Macklin, entitled Future Skills for Victoria: Driving collaboration and innovation in post-secondary education and training, known as the ‘Macklin Review’.

The Victorian Skills Authority will drive delivery of the Skills Plan that will see a collaboration between TAFEs, training providers, universities, adult and communication education providers, industry, and unions to ensure Victoria has the jobs it needs for the future.

The plan provides the most comprehensive overview of the state’s labour market to date, outlining the immediate challenges and opportunities in joining up skills and training with jobs.

In total, the Skills Plan shows Victoria will need an extra 373,000 workers across 13 key industries by 2025.

Of the new workers required, 90,000 will be needed in the service sector, 65,000 in health and community services and 64,000 in the professional, financial and information services sector.

The plan aims to reform the training and the skills sector to enable learners and workers to make informed skilling and career choices – starting at senior secondary school.

Training and Skills minister, Gayle Tierney, said free TAFE courses had seen more women, mature-age students, unemployed people, neurodiverse students, culturally diverse students, and students with a disability apply.

“Thanks to the Skills Plan, we’ll be able to put more Victorians into great new jobs and careers,” she said.

South West TAFE (SWTAFE) executive manager, Louise Cameron, agreed the free TAFE courses were attracting more students, which was reflected in the number of Hamilton Campus enrolments.

“Enrolments have increased in the Hamilton area over the last two years with the introduction to Free TAFE, Job Trainer and the funded skill sets across health and construction industries,” she said.

“Over the last twelve months, SWTAFE has been a leader in delivering short courses within the construction skill sets to upskill workers to gain employment in additional skill shortages such as forklift training.”

According to data from The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), the total VET (vocational education and training) activity for the Hamilton region showed an increase in student enrolments (1460) in 2021, compared with 1400 in 2020.

There were 210 VET programs completed in Hamilton in 2021, with the top areas of education being Human Welfare Studies and Services (150), Building (95), Agriculture (60), and Automotive Engineering and Technology (55).

The Victorian Skills Plan is available at vic.gov.au/victorian-skills-plan