Western Australia (WA) is facing an exceptional skilled labour crunch that spans construction sites, hospital wards, mining operations, and some professional services. Despite a booming economy, businesses, large and small, are struggling to find the talent they need to grow.
In mid-2024, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA reported two-thirds of WA businesses had difficulty filling skilled roles. Unemployment has hovered near record lows (just 3.3% in November 2024), meaning job vacancies are abundant but suitable candidates are scarce.
This article explores insights from a recent roundtable of WA recruitment leaders—hosted by Pendragon Management. We’ll look at what’s driving the shortages, the hurdles in attracting talent and how ethical, strategic migration can be a positive solution for WA’s workforce needs.
WA’s Cross-Industry Skills Challenge
WA’s skills shortage isn’t confined to one field – it’s across the board.
- In the 2023/24 financial year, Western Australia’s mining industry achieved a record 134,871 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, marking the seventh consecutive year of employment growth.
- Despite this growth, the sector continues to face significant workforce challenges. Recent modelling from the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association (AREEA) forecasts that Western Australia’s resources and energy industry will need at least 11,000 new workers by 2029 to support proposed projects.
- The construction industry is in a similar situation, with a significant backlog of housing and infrastructure projects but insufficient tradespeople to complete them.
- Health and aged care providers are scrambling to hire nurses, doctors, and support staff. More than one-third (36%) of primary health care nurses report being underutilised, indicating inefficiencies in workforce deployment.
- In the professional services realm, accounting firms face a shrinking talent pipeline, given that university enrolments in accounting plummeted from 57,410 in 2018 to just 29,264 in 2021– nearly a 50% drop in new graduates.
In short, from building sites to hospitals to offices, demand for skilled workers far exceeds local supply.
This widespread shortage is now a top growth challenge for regional WA businesses and a major hurdle in Perth as well according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA) .
“The two biggest barriers to business growth in WA have been cost pressures and skills shortages, and these have been persistent for the past few years”.
Aaron MoreyChamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA)
While high costs (think inflation, supply chain expenses) are a main concern, labour shortages are the second most significant barrier, with 3 in 5 businesses statewide (62%) saying a lack of workers is limiting their growth, according to the March 2025 business survey report. The problem is heightened in specialised fields like transport/logistics (75% of businesses short on staff), professional services (74%), and resources (70%).
In such a tight labour market, everyone is fishing from the same small talent pool.
The Housing Hurdle
One startling insight from the roundtable and recent surveys is that even when employers find skilled candidates willing to move to regional WA, there’s often nowhere for those workers to live. A lack of housing has become a bottleneck for attracting talent to the regions.
According to CCIWA’s December 2024 Regional Pulse report, two in five regional businesses (39%) say that insufficient housing for workers is hampering growth – more than double the rate reporting housing issues in metropolitan Perth. In some high-need areas, the situation is dire: in the Kimberley, 79% of businesses identified housing shortages as a barrier to expansion. It’s hard to recruit a nurse, teacher, or engineer to a country town if they can’t find a home for their family.
“Everything we see in Perth, from my experience having owned a business in the region, is magnified in the regions. Not just the struggle to find talent—but it’s even harder again to find accommodation.”
Corey PhippsApex Resourcing
The housing and labour shortages are intertwined. Regional communities need investment in affordable housing and infrastructure to support incoming talent. Roundtable participants noted that solving the skills gap isn’t just about visas and training—it’s also about liveability. WA’s regions offer fantastic career opportunities, but new hires won’t stay long if they can’t secure decent accommodation or if local amenities (schools, healthcare, etc.) are lacking.
“You don’t have to convince people to come to Australia—you have to convince them to come to Perth. And then it’s even harder to convince them to go regional if there’s nowhere to live.”
Recruitment leaders suggest that government and industry must work together on incentives for building regional housing and perhaps temporary housing solutions (such as worker accommodation villages or rent support) to ensure that skilled migrants or relocating Aussies can actually settle into these communities.
The Western Australian Government has started to recognise that housing access is a critical barrier to filling vital roles in remote and regional areas and recently launched a $10,000 relocation incentive, which is part of a broader Construction Visa Subsidy Program aimed at attracting skilled construction workers to regional WA helping to cover the cost of moving and settling. But is this enough?
Transferable Skills in WA’s Resource Sector
Western Australia’s deep roots in mining, energy, and construction uniquely position it to weather economic cycles. The state is no stranger to commodity pivots—transitioning from Copper to Iron Ore or Gold from Nickel—but talent practices haven’t always kept pace. A recurring theme from the roundtable was the underutilisation of transferable skills across project types and commodities.
“We’re elevating people into supervisory roles who probably aren’t ready, but at the same time, capable workers from downturned sectors aren’t being picked up,” one recruitment leader noted. “It’s a mindset issue.”
For instance, workers released from nickel operations—due to downturns or project completion—often have the competencies required in gold or lithium projects, yet are sidelined because they lack direct experience in that commodity. This narrow view on hiring reinforces bottlenecks and delays in workforce mobilisation.
“There’s still too much emphasis on having done the exact job before, in the exact industry, rather than recognising leadership potential or adjacent skills”
Despite WA’s technically skilled workforce, internal mobility remains limited, often due to rigid job briefs. Yet the state’s resource industry has repeatedly shown its resilience—pivoting quickly between sectors in response to market needs. Employers that embrace broader talent criteria may see faster project delivery, stronger team capability, and more resilient workforce planning.
The True Cost of Unfilled Roles
Some employers hesitate when it comes to investing in recruitment. Whether that’s hiring locally, sponsoring overseas talent, or engaging external partners -often due to perceived cost. But as several roundtable participants pointed out, the cost of inaction is often far higher.
Leaving a critical role unfilled for months can quietly rack up hidden costs that exceed an agency fee or a salary package. Lost productivity, delayed projects, missed revenue opportunities, and staff burnout from covering additional responsibilities all contribute to what’s known in the industry as the “cost of vacancy.” One estimate suggests that an unfilled position can cost a company around 19% of that role’s annual salary, once you account for lost output and operational inefficiencies.
This is why exploring alternative hiring models—such as contingent or project-based workers—can be a smart strategy. These flexible approaches allow organisations to scale their workforce up or down in response to changing project timelines, location-specific needs, or seasonal demand. In sectors like mining, healthcare, and construction—where labour requirements shift quickly and skilled workers are scarce—a blended workforce model that combines permanent and contingent talent can deliver significant advantages.
“If you don’t do anything, what’s the alternative? You’ve got a gap. You’ll do one of two things: you’ll live with that gap – which could be revenue, efficiency or compliance impacting, or tap someone on the shoulder locally, which creates inflationary pressure within the local environment.”
On the flip side, proactively investing in recruitment, whether through contingent staffing, tapping into local training pipelines (such as apprenticeships, vocational pathways), or sponsoring skilled migrants – often pays for itself quickly by restoring output and preventing bottlenecks.
“We talk about it all the time with clients – the indirect cost of an unfilled role is far greater than a recruitment cost.”
Yes, hiring a migrant worker might involve upfront paperwork and expense, but compare that to a construction firm incurring penalties for project delays due to insufficient labour, or a hospital unit closing beds because of nurse shortages. When the real cost of vacancy is properly analysed, these proactive approaches often emerge as the most economical choice.
Migration Pathways to Permanent Residency
On the policy front, there’s some good news: Australia has begun overhauling its skilled migration pathways, to make it easier for employers to bring in overseas talent and for those workers to build a life here. A key development has been the reform of the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482), which was renamed and revamped as the Skills in Demand (SID) 482 visa in December 2024. This isn’t just a cosmetic change – several important updates came into effect:
- One Unified Occupation List: Instead of split lists that determined visa length and PR eligibility, all skilled occupations are now on a single Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), which means any approved skilled role can get a visa for up to four years.
- Lower Experience Requirement: As of late 2024, a visa applicant needs only 1 year of full-time work experience in the nominated occupation (down from 2 years previously), combined with an applicable tertiary qualification, to be eligible. This small tweak can significantly widen the pipeline of young professionals and recent graduates that employers in WA can sponsor. It speeds up the process of bringing in skilled workers who can contribute sooner.
- Improved PR Pathways: Perhaps the most welcome change is the improved pathway from temporary visas to permanent residency (PR). Historically, many skilled migrants on temporary work visas had no clear path to stay permanently – especially if they were on the “short-term” list. Now, the federal government has expanded PR pathways for 482/SID visa holders.
Yet, despite these improvements, there’s still a gap in employer uptake. As one roundtable participant put it:
“Commercial businesses are still crying out for talent, yet they’re reluctant to offer a 482 visa sponsorship. They haven’t had to before, and now they’re just realising it might be the only way.”
Additionally, WA’s State Government secured an increase in its State Nominated Migration Program quota to 10,000 places for 2024-25 (up from just 2,350 the year prior). This includes a special allocation of 5,000 spots under a new WA-specific Designated Area Migration Agreement to target regional skills needs. CCIWA’s Chief Executive Chris Rodwell welcomed this boost, noting it will help employers in sectors like construction, health care, tourism, hospitality, and agriculture that have been “struggling to find the skilled workers they need”.
For WA businesses, this means more opportunities to sponsor the talent they desperately require – and to retain those workers as future Australians.
“A lot of sponsored workers are so grateful to be in Australia and to have a pathway to permanent residency. So now you’ll have that retention piece as well”
Ethical Migration
But migration isn’t a silver bullet—or a stopgap. The roundtable experts emphasised that strategic migration must be done ethically and with long-term intent.
That means:
- Complementing, not replacing, local workforce development. Migration should work hand-in-hand with local training programs to address long-term capacity gaps.
- Providing fair pay, safety, and opportunity. Skilled migrants must be treated not as temporary fixes but as future citizens—with viable PR pathways, proper working conditions, and support for integration (including school access and medical support).
- Done right, today’s sponsored worker can become tomorrow’s team leader, mentor, or business founder. We just need a balanced approach.
As one attendee put it:
“If you source offshore and it works, then the rest will follow. We’ve got a bit of a ‘follow the leader’ mentality here.”
This supports the idea that today’s migrants can become tomorrow’s leaders. However, we need a change of mindset, and employers need to take the first step and not just follow old traditions.
Rethinking the Recruiter’s Role from Transactional to Strategic
One of the key takeaways from the roundtable was the need for recruiters to elevate their role from “CV suppliers” to strategic workforce partners. In a tight labour market, clients need more than a stack of resumes – they need guidance.
“The recruitment industry needs to move away from being just a CV-flicking service. We’re looking at how we can indirectly save Clients a ton of money if you partner with us.”
This quote resonated with everyone in the room. It underlines a shift in mindset: recruiters should not see their job as done once a placement is made. Instead, they can add value by advising on talent market trends, salary benchmarking, training opportunities, and retention strategies for the hires they place.
For example, a recruiter specialised in healthcare might inform a hospital client about emerging trends in overseas nurse recruitment, advise on alternative visa pathways, and even supply market data on why offering flexible rosters could improve retention. Similarly, in construction or mining, recruiters can help forecast labour needs for upcoming projects and devise proactive hiring campaigns (both locally and internationally) before shortages bite. By developing such consultative expertise, recruiters become indispensable partners in their clients’ growth, rather than just vendors filling a one-off order.
This approach requires upskilling for recruiters themselves. As discussed in the roundtable, training programs (like those run by industry bodies such as RCSA or training leaders like Michael Jones ) can equip recruitment consultants with broader knowledge in workforce planning, immigration basics, and technology tools for talent analytics.
“What Michael’s been really good at is getting newer recruiters to think about their job a little bit more and be a little more strategic, a little less reactive.”
“We need to enable recruiters to advise, not just fill roles, ‘Here’s a candidate, here’s the process, here's how migration works, here are some retention solutions’ clients would take it more seriously.”
It’s a far cry from the old transactional model, and it’s the way forward if we’re to solve complex workforce challenges in WA.
By leveraging partnerships and expert resources, even smaller recruitment firms can offer clients big-picture solutions. For instance, some agencies team up with immigration specialists or firms (like Pendragon) that hold on-hire labour agreements, enabling access to global talent without the usual legal hurdles. Such collaborations allow recruiters to say “Yes, we can help you sponsor someone from overseas” confidently, because the backend compliance is handled by a trusted partner. Ultimately, a recruiter who can integrate domestic recruitment, international sourcing and retention consulting, will stand out as a strategic advisor in this skills crisis era.
Building the Workforce WA Deserves
WA’s skilled labour shortage is more than just a hiring headache — it’s a structural challenge that, if tackled strategically, could lead to long-term resilience and growth. One of the clearest takeaways from our roundtable was that no single solution will suffice. Success will require a mix of collaboration, adaptability, and fresh thinking across government, business, and the recruitment sector.
Yes, migration plays a part, but so does recognising the full spectrum of available talent across industries and alternative employment models. Too often, opportunities are lost because a candidate lacks a narrow type of experience—even when they have highly transferable skills, leadership potential, or the capacity to grow into the role.
In spite of this, we are slowly seeing some shifts in mindset:
- Employers are beginning to think more holistically about workforce planning — investing in capability, not just filling seats.
- Recruiters are stepping up as strategic partners, helping clients navigate a more complex hiring landscape.
- Government initiatives — from housing support to relocation incentives which are designed to help remove key barriers to workforce mobility and participation in WA.
The roundtable left little doubt: WA has the industries, the projects, and the ambition. Now it needs the agility to build flexible workforce models and recognise overlooked talent.
The talent is out there—sometimes it’s overseas, sometimes it’s hidden in adjacent sectors, and sometimes it’s waiting for an opportunity to grow with training. Because building WA’s future workforce isn’t about one perfect unicorn hire – it’s about creating a system that supports the right people, in the right roles, at the right time.
Thank You
We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who attended the recent roundtable and generously contributed to the discussion. Your insights, experiences, and candid perspectives helped shine a light on the real challenges – and the real opportunities – facing WA’s workforce today
Apex Resourcing – Corey Phipps
Curamoir Healthcare Recruitment – Ryan Valentine
Fetch Recruitment – Lianne Adlington
Hunter Manning – Mitch Hunt
Pearl Recruitment – Daniel Tapper
Technical & Engineering Network (TEN) – Nik Hardiman
Michael Jones – Michael Jones
