The main activities undertaken in the Retail and Wholesale industry include buying and/or selling goods to the general public (Retail trade) or to businesses (Wholesale trade), and the supply of prescription and non-prescription medicine, information and health care services (Community Pharmacy).
The goods exchanged can span various industries such as food and beverage, clothing, footwear and personal accessories, recreational goods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and toiletries. Trading is widespread across Australia, covering metropolitan, regional and rural locations, either in the form of bricks-and-mortar establishments and/or online shopping options.
Community pharmacies in particular can play a key role in regional and remote communities by optimising access to health and pharmacy services which can otherwise be limited due to distance and location.
Overall, the industry is characterised by a highly competitive and open marketplace, attracting local and international players of all sizes. In Australia, the retail industry is predominantly made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, with 96% of businesses having fewer than 20 employees.
Nationally recognised training for the Retail and Wholesale industry is delivered under the SIR – Retail Services Training Package.
For information on community pharmacies, see the Community Pharmacy page.
Information sourced from the most recently available Skills Forecast, the Wholesale and Retail IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast.
All data sources are available at the end of the page.
The Wholesale and Retail IRC was not required to submit an annual update to their 2019 Skills Forecast during 2020. As such, the version published in 2019 remains the most recently published Skills Forecast for this industry.
Wholesale and Retail IRC (this industry was formally under the jurisdiction of the Wholesale, Retail and Personal Services IRC)
Please note: any employment projections outlined below were calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics prior to COVID-19.
Employment in the Retail Trade industry has been relatively steady since 2003, with small fluctuations occurring over the years. It is projected that employment in the industry will increase slightly by 2024. The most common occupations in the Retail Trade industry are Sales Assistants (General) (34%) and Retail Managers (11%). Employment levels for all occupations involved in the Retail Trade industry are predicted to grow between 2019 and 2024. Storepersons, currently 2% of the workforce, are predicted to have the largest industry employment increase of 13% by 2024.
Employment in the Wholesale Trade industry has been variable between 2000 and 2020, marked by a peak of around 425,600 in 2013 and a trough of 348,200 in 2017. This industry is expected to see a slight increase in employment, from 389,300 in 2020 to 412,200 by 2024. Storepersons and Sales Assistant (General) are the most common occupation within the Wholesale Trade industry, accounting for more than 12% of the workforce. The largest increases in employment levels over the next five years to 2024 are expected for the occupations of Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Managers at 14%, followed by Sales Assistants (General) at 13%.
Program enrolments increased in Retail and Wholesale-related qualifications between 2015 and 2017 and peaked at just over 49,370 in 2017 but have since declined to roughly 40,560 in 2019. Program completions peaked in 2015 at almost 15,860 and have since declined to less than 12,410 in 2019. The majority of training in Retail and Wholesale-related qualifications were at the certificate III (76%) and II (18%) levels, with very little activity at higher or lower qualification levels. Training in these most popular qualification levels were mostly in the Certificate III in Retail (75%) and the Certificate II in Retail Services (18%). The most popular intended occupation for this sector was Sales Assistant (General), followed by Retail Supervisor.
More than three quarters of Retail and Wholesale-related qualifications were delivered by either private training providers or enterprise providers (55% and 25% respectively). The majority of training was Commonwealth and state funded for all provider types except for private training providers, which had a higher proportion of domestic fee for service at 55%, followed by Commonwealth and state funded at 41%.
Approximately 39% of students were from New South Wales, with Queensland and Victoria accounting for 19% and 14% respectively. By comparison, training was delivered at a relatively similar rate between New South Wales (34%) and Victoria (32%), followed by Queensland at 16%.
Commencements and completions for Retail and Wholesale-related apprentices and trainees have drastically declined since the 2010 figures of approximately 40,380 commencements and 23,490 completions. From 2014 onwards the rate of decline for commencements and completions has slowed but does continue a downwards trend, with almost 8,190 commencements and close to 5,840 completions in 2019. Most apprentices and trainees in the Retail and Wholesale sector have the intended occupation of Sales Assistant (General), with a much smaller proportion training towards the occupation of Retail Supervisor. As at December 2019, New South Wales reported close to one third (30%) of Retail and Wholesale apprentices and trainees, followed by Queensland (18%), South Australia (18%) and Victoria (17%).
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According to the Wholesale and Retail IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast the top generic skills for the Retail and Wholesale industry are:
Although technical skills are necessary to perform job tasks, the Wholesale and Retail IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast has identified four ‘soft skills’ employers will be looking for from their workforce, including emotional intelligence, problem solving, critical thinking and resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility.
According to the job vacancy data, the top requested skills by employers in Retail were communication skills, detail-orientated and problem solving. The most advertised Retail occupations were Sales Assistant (General) followed by Retail Manager (General), with the top Retail employers identified as Woolworths Limited and Coles Supermarket.
Communication skills was also one of the top requested skills by employers in the Wholesale sector along with being detail orientated. The most advertised Wholesale occupations were Sales Representative followed by Sales and Marketing Manager, while the top Wholesale employers were identified as Chemist Warehouse and Schneider Electric.
The Wholesale and Retail IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast identified several challenges and opportunities currently impacting workforce skills in the Retail and Wholesale industry, including:
The need to improve digital skills across the Retail industry has also been identified in the Industry Developments and Workforce Challenges: Retail Trade report, outlining that although the shift to digital technology is gaining in momentum, the transition within the Retail industry has been slower. Currently digital skills training is offered across eleven training packages, however, many of these units are elective and offer broad and generically based content. This report highlights that in order to meet industry needs, standalone units providing comprehensive knowledge of digital skills should be offered as well as being included as core units in Certificate II in Retail Services and Certificate III in Retail and Certificate IV in Retail Management.
A review of literature published in the first half of 2020 reveals the significant impact COVID-19 has had on the Retail and Wholesale industry, with the full extent of this pandemic not yet thoroughly realised. The immediate impacts of this pandemic on the Retail and Wholesale industry are mixed, with a report from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment identifying short-term increased demand for non-discretionary spending (e.g. supermarkets), while many retailers reliant on the sale of discretionary items from bricks and mortar stores have had to close stores and stand down staff. Figures released by the ABS showed an increase of 8.2% in retail turnover in March, however this was followed by a decline of 17.9% in April reflecting the impact of social distancing restrictions and a decline in the stockpiling activities that occurred in March.
A sentiment echoed across different publications is the impact this pandemic is having on eCommerce; an article by the Commonwealth Bank states that after a tapering of eCommerce growth between 2017 and 2019, a surge of 39% was recorded in March 2020 with further increases noted in April. In addition, the industry specific Jeweller Magazine published an article which presents the view that jewellery store owners should use this period of ‘hibernation’ to reassess their business and improve skills, particularly within the areas of eCommerce and digital communication.
Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.
A Blueprint for Retail Recovery – National Retail Association
Coping with Coronavirus: Comprehensive Business Survival Guide – Jeweller Magazine
Coronavirus: The Great Accelerator – Commonwealth Bank
Employment Conditions and Outlook for Retail Trade – Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment
Industry Developments and Workforce Challenges: Retail Trade – Retail & Personal Skills Advisory Council (RAPS)
Measuring the Impacts of COVID-19, Mar-May 2020 – Australia Bureau of Statistics
Industry Skills Advisory Council NT (ISACNT)
Retail and Personal Services Skills Advisory Council (RAPS)
Service Skills SA
Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS)
Australian Community Pharmacy Authority (ACPA)
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
Australian Retailers Association (ARA)
Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA)
Master Grocers Australia (MGA)
National Online Retailers Association (NORA)
National Pharmaceutical Services Association (NPSA)
National Retail Association (NRA)
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA)
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
Department of Employment 2020, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020, Employed persons by Occupation unit group of main job (ANZSCO), Sex, State and Territory, August 1986 onwards, 6291.0.55.003 - EQ08, viewed 1 August 2020 https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6291.0.55.003May%202020?OpenDocument
Employed total by ANZSIC 1 digit Retail Trade Industry and Wholesale Trade Industry, 2000 to 2020, May Quarter.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, 2016 Census – employment, income and unpaid work, TableBuilder. Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data.
Employment level by 1 digit Retail Trade Industry and Wholesale Trade Industry, and 4 digit level occupations to identify the relevant VET-related occupations in the industry as a proportion of the total workforce.
Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training packages or qualifications:
This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.
Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:
Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.
Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.
Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.
SIR and WRR Training Packages apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:
Priority skills data have been extracted from the Wholesale and Retail IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast.
Job vacancy data have been extracted from Burning Glass Technologies 2020, Labour Insight Real-time Labour Market Information Tool, Burning Glass Technologies, Boston, viewed July 2020, https://www.burning-glass.com.
Data shown represent most requested generic skills, occupations and employers according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2017 and June 2020 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.
Retail
Wholesale
