Skills & Labour

All along the State’s East Coast across factories, labs and transport, people are at the heart of our sugar manufacturing sector.

Australia’s sugar millers employ thousands of factory, transport, engineering, IT, science, finance, procurement and administration staff. Like many sectors, we face ongoing skill and labour shortages that need flexible, big-picture solutions.

Sugar mills are the lifeblood of many regional Queensland towns along the coast of Queensland. Like many employers throughout Australia, sugar manufacturers face critical skill and labour shortages, exacerbated by the impacts of COVID-19, an ageing workforce, the mining boom in regional Queensland, and a lack of affordable housing.

Despite robust apprenticeship programs (70 apprentices joined the sector in 2022 and more than 300 are in training at any time in sugar mills) and a variety of attraction and retention strategies, sugar manufacturers have hundreds of vacancies across multiple vocations, including trades, locomotive drivers, general mill workers, analysts, engineers, lab technicians and accountants.

The ASMC works for immediate and long-term solutions that consider all facets of the issue to ensure not just a viable sugar manufacturing sector, but the prosperity of the communities in which our sugar mills operate.

The ASMC seeks:

  • more flexible and expedited short-term worker visa and permanent residency options
  • better labour and skills forecasting by employers so training providers can be more market responsive
  • a rental affordability scheme for regional Australia to support workforce mobility and participation
  • continued promotion of school-to-trades job opportunities in education.