Highly skilled talent
Melbourne's workforce is the most educated state in Australia
More than half of all Victorians aged 20-64 hold some form of post-secondary qualification. 40% of the Victorian labour force have a university degree - the highest proportion of all Australian states1.
Tap into highly skilled talent
Melbourne has more skilled professionals than many of its regional peers across evolving and critical sectors.
Digital technology
- Victoria has the fastest growing digital technology sector in Australia, with over 259,0003 tech professionals and almost a third of the country’s software engineers.
- Investors in Victoria have access to a deep tech talent pool with more Software Development and Cloud Computing professionals than other jurisdictions across the APAC region, including Singapore and Hong Kong4.
- Victoria’s world-class education has also produced more Engineering related technology and IT graduates than anywhere else in Australia5
Renewable energy
Victoria has a growing talent pool in the new energy sector. Compared to other Australian jurisdictions, Victoria has the second highest number of skilled professionals in renewable energy, sustainability and energy Agri-food.
Victoria employs over 150,100 people6 in agriculture production and food manufacturing. Among the top five skills in this sector, Victoria has 25% of Australian professionals skilled in fast-moving consumer goods7, 34% of product development4 and 30% of food and beverage manufacturing4.
Manufacturing
- Manufacturing is Victoria’s third largest employer, with more than 300,500 people8.
- Victoria has the most skilled professionals in manufacturing in Australia and the second highest number of engineering professionals in the advanced manufacturing sector.
Health and life sciences
- Victoria’s thriving health and life sciences sector is home to over 95,000 life science professionals9, the second largest body of any state and over a third of the sector’s Australian workforce.
Melbourne is home to Australia's highest ranked university and is the only Australian city with universities in the world's top 5010
Melbourne’s world-class university sector is a driving force of business growth and innovation, with a skill-base deeper than anywhere else in Australia. We produce highly skilled talent from a diverse range of world-class institutions, including Monash University, La Trobe University, Victoria University, Deakin University, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, Federation University and MCD University of Divinity.
- The University of Melbourne and Monash University are the only two Australian universities to rank in the world’s top 50.1
- The University of Melbourne is the highest ranked university in Australia.10
- Victoria’s universities have outstanding employability outcomes, with The University of Melbourne, Monash University and RMIT ranked in the global Top 100 and the University of Melbourne ranking 8th in the world.11
10Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023
11QS World University Rankings, Graduate Employability Rankings 2022
Melbourne is a hot spot for high quality research collaborations
Victorian universities are known for a strong culture of collaboration with industry. Together they collaborate on research, training and education opportunities (university curriculum, the provision of scholarships, internships and facilitating an environment for skilled research talent) to foster a mutually-beneficial relationship that produces a deep pool of resilient, work-ready graduates. It provides industry access to the country's best research talent.
We have a concentration of PhD and research talent
Victoria stands out as a leader in higher education and research in Australia, particularly in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
With 63,800 PhD holders - all subjects and 48,900 PhD holders in STEM1, Melbourne is an ideal location for advanced research and knowledge-driven industries, and especially for scientific research and innovation.
Victoria has one of the highest levels of postgraduate research completion rates in the nation. This skill base feeds our workforce pipeline and makes finding great talent simpler and faster.
1: AWARD COURSE COMPLETIONS 2022, Department of Education
Mid-career talent with transferrable skills ripe for upskilling
Melbourne’s highly skilled educated workforce offers a pool of mid-career professionals with transferable skills that can be quickly upskilled to meet industry and business needs. The Victorian Government is supporting this focus through initiatives such as the Digital Jobs program, which is training and upskilling mid-career Victorians so they can transition into digital careers and join the state’s thriving digital workforce.
We have over one million Asian and European speakers
Melbourne has a long tradition of immigration from all over the world. A diverse range of European and Asian speakers contribute to the incredible linguistic diversity in Melbourne today.
The number of people who use a language other than English at home has increased by nearly 800,000 since 2016 to more than 5.5 million people. With over 260 languages spoken in the workforce, local businesses benefit from strong cultural connections and networks.
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1ABS, Education and Work 2022, Table builder
2https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/28/three-australian-unis-place-in-top-20-list-of-the-qs-world-university-rankings
3https://techcouncil.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Tech-Jobs-Opportunity-report.pdf
4LinkedIn Talent Insights, October 2023
5Department of Education, Skills and Employment 2023
6https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/about/agriculture-in-victoria/victorias-agriculture-and-food-industries
7https://bolddata.nl/en/companies/australia/fmcg-companies-australia/
8ABS cat 6291.0.55.001
9Australian Biotechnology sector snapshot 2022
