Australia's construction industry employs nearly 600,000 workers, over 7% of total national employment. The industry is heavily dominated by males (nearly 88%) and full-time workers (86%). Much of the work in this industry involves subcontracting and is cyclical. Construction employers provided much less structured training than the average…

Nearly 590,000 persons are employed in education in Australia, two-thirds of whom are women. One-third of education jobs are part time, and 40% of the work force is over age 45, suggesting that labor shortages may emerge in the next decade. As would be expected, this sector employs more persons with bachelor's and higher degrees than any other…

Australia's finance and insurance industry is among the 5 industry divisions in which females outnumber males. Women's share of industry jobs has risen from 51% to 55% in the last decade. However, there is a pronounced gap in earnings between male and female workers. Employers expressed below-average satisfaction with vocational education and…

In Australia, the health and community services industry is the nation's fourth largest, and employment has grown by 39% since 1987, almost twice as much as the labor force as a whole. The industry is the most female dominated in Australia (77%) and the second-largest source of jobs for women. Thirty-eight percent of jobs in the sector are part…

Australia's accommodation, cafes, and restaurants industry represents more than half of the nation's total tourism and hospitality employment. It accounts for roughly 4.5% of all jobs in Australia (400,000 workers). Since 1987, the number of jobs in the sector has risen from about 257,000 to about 372,000. Approximately 57% of employees are…

Australia's agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry represents about 5% of the nation's total employment and growth in the last 10 years has averaged only about 0.3% per year. In 1996, it was estimated that 4.7% of government-funded training was directed toward this industry. A 1997 employer satisfaction survey indicated that 11% of…

Australia's cultural and recreational services industry encompasses radio and television broadcasting, motion pictures, theatre, music, other performing arts, and sports and services to sports. Only 2.5% of the nation's labor force is employed in the industry. The sector has a particularly high level of part-time employment (over 40%). Employment…

Australia's electricity, gas, and water supply industry employs only 0.8% of the nation's workers and employment in the industry has declined by nearly 39% in the last decade. This industry is substantially more dependent on the vocational education and training (VET) sector for skilled graduates than is the total Australian labor market. Despite…