ANZSCO 3511-11
Baker
Australia
December 2014
Current labour market rating
Shortage
Previous labour market rating (August 2013)
Shortage
Comments
Shortages of bakers persist, having been evident continuously since 2005. A very small proportion of
surveyed vacancies were filled in 2014 and there were few suitable applicants. Employers’ comments
indicate that employment conditions (including low wages and unsociable working hours) make it hard
to recruit and retain bakers.
Employer requirements
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Employers were surveyed across a range of businesses including independent and franchise
bakeries, supermarkets and bulk production environments.
o Most were at independent bakeries involving artisan breads (such as hand moulded sourdough
and other specialty breads).
Employers often sought bakers who had a Certificate III in Retail Baking or equivalent and preferred
applicants to have completed an apprenticeship.
Employers generally required applicants to have a minimum of three years experience.
o Independent bakeries sought bakers with previous experience mixing dough from scratch and
with hand bread moulding skills.
o Bakery franchises, supermarkets and bulk production environments generally sought
applicants with experience relevant to their operations but the skills required were not as
extensive as those set by independent bakeries.
Around 60 per cent of surveyed vacancies were in metropolitan areas.
Survey results
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In 2014, employers continued to have difficulty attracting applicants with the required skills, and
few vacancies were filled.
o Around 15 per cent of surveyed employers did not attract any applicants.
While there was a modest increase in the proportion of vacancies filled in 2014 (39 per cent
compared with 33 per cent in 2013), the fill rate remains one of the lowest of any assessed
occupation.
There were, though, larger numbers of applicants in 2014 (10.6 per vacancy on average compared
with 9.6 in 2013) and qualified applicants (2.8 compared with 1.8). Nonetheless, there was no
change in the average number of applicants considered by employers to be suitable (1.4 per
vacancy).
Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch
Department of Employment
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Employers in regional areas had more difficulty recruiting compared with their metropolitan
counterparts.
o About 30 per cent of regional vacancies were filled compared with 45 per cent in metropolitan
areas, and there were 4.9 applicants per regional vacancy compared with an average of 14.3
for each metropolitan vacancy.
o On average, there were fewer qualified applicants in regional areas (1.8 per vacancy compared
with 3.4 in metropolitan areas).
o Interestingly, however, there were quite similar numbers of suitable applicants in both areas
(1.3 in regional areas and 1.5 in metropolitan areas).
Although most employers had difficulty filling their positions, employers recruiting for bakery
franchises had more success while those recruiting for independent bakeries had the most difficulty.
o Employers recruiting for bakery franchises filled 67 per cent of their vacancies and attracted
29.5 applicants per vacancy, of whom 1.3 were qualified and 1.5 were suitable.
o Employers recruiting for independent bakeries filled 38 per cent of their vacancies and had
8.0 applicants per vacancy, of whom 3.5 were qualified and 1.2 were suitable.
Around one quarter of the vacancies which were unfilled attracted suitable applicants.
o Many of these remained unfilled because employers and suitable applicants could not agree
on pay and conditions or because the suitable applicant accepted employment elsewhere.
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Unsuitable applicants
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The vast majority of applicants were considered by employers to be unsuitable.
One third of applicants were qualified, but nearly two thirds of whom were considered to be
unsuitable.
Very few unqualified applicants had a trade-equivalent level of skill.
Many qualified applicants were unsuitable because they did not have experience working in the
same baking environment as the advertised vacancy and lacked skills such as hand moulding or
making artisan doughs.
Surveyed employers in independent bakeries differed in their willingness to consider applicants who
had experience only in bakery franchises or bulk production environments. Some regarded these
applicants as suitable if they showed drive and a desire to build upon their existing skills, others felt
their skills were too limited.
A significant number of surveyed employers were unwilling to hire bakers who had trained in
supermarkets and did not have wider experience.
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Demand and supply trends
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1
2
ABS Census data show there were 14,600 bakers employed in Australia in 20111.
Recent data are not available specifically for bakers, though for the broader group of bakers and
pastrycooks there were 13 per cent more vacancies in the year to November 2014 than there were
in the year to November 2013, but 6 per cent fewer than in the year to November 20092.
ABS, Census of Population and Housing, 2011
Department of Employment, Internet Vacancy Index, 12 month moving average, November 2014
Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch
Department of Employment
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3
Noting that some employers expressed a preference for apprenticeship trained bakers, it is
interesting that National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) student data3 show that
around 60 per cent of those undertaking training in 2013 with the intended occupation of baker did
so as an apprentice.
o There has been a marked drop in the number of people in-training as a baker through an
apprenticeship, with the number in 2013 down by nearly 50 per cent compared with 2008.
o There has, though, been a rise in training enrolments outside the apprenticeship system (more
than doubling over the same time period).
NCVER, Students and Courses, 2013
Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch
Department of Employment