• More than a quarter of Australian adults say they want to engage in further study over the next 6 months, according to ABS data.
• 19% of women and 14% of men said they want to invest in further education or training.
• The survey figures suggest Australians remain uneasy about employment as the pandemic recovery favours some industries and abandons others.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

More than a quarter of Australian adults say they want to engage in further study over the next 6 months, as JobSeeker payments wind down and the Covid recovery reveals profound inequities across sectors, according to new ABS data.

The survey, which looked at the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on Australian households asked if people over the age of 18 planned to do any new or additional training, courses or self-learning activities.

It found that one in four, or 25% of Australian adults wanted to train or study in the next six months.

The survey found that one in six (17%) said that while they wanted to study, they were unsure what they would do.

Of those respondents, 19% of women and 14% of men suggested they wanted to invest in further education or training.

Those hoping to study in the next six months were more likely to be aged 18 to 64 years old (30%) compared with those aged 65 years and over (4%).

Those already in work (29%) were more likely to say they wanted to study or train than those without, with only 17% of people without a job — including people permanently out of work or retired — saying they were planning to upskill.

34% of workers born overseas, and 25% of those who arrived in Australia within ten years were more likely to want to engage in further study than people born in Australia (24%).

Very few respondents said they planned to use government-funded programs as part of their study or training.

Of those planning to study, only 8% intended to use JobTrainer Fund training places as part of their new or additional study, with 18% responding that they were not yet sure if they would use the available training places.

An uneven job recovery

The amount of Australians looking to upskill in 2021 points to lingering uncertainty as the pandemic recovery favours certain industries above others and leaves workers questioning the stability of their field.

The latest job figures show an impressive recovery for the Australian job market, with job ads up 19.8% on where they were last year.

While sectors like construction, cleaning, agriculture, personal care and construction are all hiring strongly, economist Callam Pickering told Business Insider Australia that Australia’s job recovery is nowhere near even.

Cleaning and sanitation, and community and social services sectors are up more than 60% over the last 12 months, while hospitality and tourism are significantly down on last year’s figures.

Job postings for hospitality are still down 40% compared to their baseline, with business for electric engineering, pharmacies, and physicians also down.

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.