Property and Business Services
Age by Industry
Age by Occupation
Age by Education
Age by Working Arrangements
Age by Industry Trends
Age by Industry
The average age (mean) of the Property and Business Services industry is 39.1 years. The chart below displays the age distribution of workers in Property and Business Services. The largest proportion of workers are in the 25 to 29 year age group (13.7 per cent), followed 30 to 34 years (13.1 per cent).
AGE BY INDUSTRY
Retail Trade
Age grouping
ABS (2001) Labour Force Australia
Projections of the age profile of the Property and Business Services industry against the age profile of the population in ten years time, shows that there could be considerable variation between these two profiles. Most noticeable is the diversion at the 25 to 34 years and 55 years and over age groups, demonstrating a higher proportional concentration of young people compared to the Australia population.
Retail Trade
Workforce Population Age Profile Year 2004
Age by Occupation
The oldest employees within Property and Business Services are Labourers and
Related Workers, (42.5 years) and Managers and Administrators, aged 41.4 years
on average. The youngest group is Intermediate Clerical, Sales, and Service
Workers, age is 36.4 years.
AGE BY OCCUPATION
Retail Trade
Occupation
ABS (2001) Labour Force Australia
Age by Education
The level and currency of post-secondary qualifications held by workers within Property and Business Services demonstrates the ability of the industry to sustain its productivity into the future. Seven-two per cent of all workers in Property and Business Services have a post-secondary qualification. This is one of the highest proportions across all industries.
The majority of the workers, who do hold a post-secondary qualification, have a
bachelor degree level qualification (25 per cent). Younger people aged 15 to 44
years, have a greater proportion of workers who have obtained a Bachelor degree
level qualification. 27.8 per cent of people in this age group have this
qualification, compared to 18.9 per cent of workers aged 45 years and over.
Two-thirds of workers aged 45 years and over who do hold post-secondary
qualifications, obtained them before 1980. For workers aged less than 45 years,
5.3 per cent had completed their qualification prior to 1980.
| Highest Qualification | 15 to 44yrs | 45yrs and over | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate Degree Level | 4.3% | 5.7% | 4.8% |
| Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate Level | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.4% |
| Bachelor Degree Level | 27.8% | 18.9% | 24.7% |
| Advanced Diploma and Diploma Level | 9.1% | 10.7% | 9.6% |
| Certificate Level | 13.9% | 15.1% | 14.3% |
| No Post-secondary Education | 37.2% | 39.7% | 38.1% |
| Other | 5.3% | 7.6% | 6.1% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Year completed qualification | 15 to 44yrs | 45yrs and over | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1971 | 29.9% | 10.0% | |
| 1971-1980 | 5.3% | 36.7% | 15.8% |
| 1981-1985 | 12.0% | 8.2% | 10.7% |
| 1986-1990 | 16.3% | 7.5% | 13.4% |
| 1991-1995 | 24.0% | 8.2% | 18.7% |
| 1996-1997 | 12.5% | 3.1% | 9.4% |
| 1998-1999 | 15.9% | 3.3% | 11.7% |
| 2000-2001 | 14.0% | 3.1% | 10.3% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Age by Working Arrangements
The working arrangements of employees within Property and Business Services are highly variable, with only one in five workers employed on a standard 40 hour week basis. Forty-five per cent of workers aged 45 years and over work for less than 40 hours, compared to 40 per cent of workers aged 15 to 44 years. A significant proportion of workers in this industry are also employed for more than 40 hours a week (37 per cent). Working beyond the standard 40 hour week, raises questions about the sustainability of workers as they age.
| Hours worked | 15 to 44yrs | 45yrs and over | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-15 hours | 9.3% | 13.6% | 10.8% |
| 16-24 hours | 7.9% | 9.4% | 8.4% |
| 25-34 hours | 7.7% | 10.0% | 8.5% |
| 35-39 hours | 15.3% | 12.5% | 14.3% |
| 40 hours | 23.1% | 17.6% | 21.2% |
| 41-48 hours | 15.2% | 12.2% | 14.2% |
| 49 or more hours | 21.4% | 24.7% | 22.5% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Age by Industry Trends
The Property and Business Services industry is at the centre of the new economy, with economic growth dependent on a supply of workers with the flexible, generic skills to respond to new challenges including new technologies. The new economy business environment encapsulates an open, competitive product and capital market; greater fiscal and monetary discipline; communications-based infrastructure; technology convergence; and globalisation. Resulting from this has been changed national growth patterns and productivity; export performance and competitiveness; demand for quality; changed the way people communicate, work and learn; and altered the way data is networked, knowledge is disseminated and information is accessed. These changes have placed many older workers at a disadvantage as they have had the longest exposure to earlier structures and cultures. The availability and suitability of retraining for client needs will be a critical issue to be addressed by the supply side of training, and at a policy level. Skills shortages in Property and Business Services include and the areas of supply change management; compliance; corporate governance and, a small but strategic area in the face of increasing international trade and globalisation, customs broking.
Source:
Business Service Training Australia (2003) Industry Plan for the Business Services & Related Sectors 2003 – 2006
