Get Into a TradeUpdated July 2026

The best trades for the future in Australia

Quick answer

On demand, pay and long-term security, the standout trades in Australia are electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning and refrigeration, with carpentry and welding not far behind. Every one of the eight trades on this site has appeared on the national shortage list, so there is no wrong answer for jobs. The real question is which one you can actually stick out for three to four years, because the best trade for the future is the one you will not quit in year one.

Australia has a genuine trades shortage, and it is not marketing spin. Governments, builders and industry bodies all agree the country is short of skilled tradespeople and will be for years. That is good news if you are deciding whether to get into a trade. But "in demand" and "right for you" are not the same thing, so here is an honest look at which trades have the strongest future, what they pay, and the downsides the ads leave out.

First, what "best for the future" actually means

Three things make a trade a safe long-term bet: strong, lasting demand for the work; pay that grows as you get skilled; and skills that are hard to send overseas or hand to a machine. Trades score well on all three. You cannot email a blocked drain or a dead switchboard to another country, and someone has to physically be there to fix it.

The numbers back this up. Jobs and Skills Australia's 2025 Occupation Shortage List again found Technicians and Trades Workers among the hardest occupation groups to fill, with more occupations in shortage than most other categories. Many trades have stayed on the shortage list year after year. So the demand is real across the board.

•Demand: driven by the housing shortage, an ageing workforce retiring, and the shift to electric homes, solar, batteries and EVs.
•Pay: apprentice years are lean, but qualified tradies earn solid money, and the ceiling is high if you get your own licence and go out on your own.
•Security: hands-on, on-site work is very hard to automate or offshore, which is not true of a lot of office jobs.

The strongest bets right now: electrical, plumbing, and HVAC/refrigeration

If you want the trades with the deepest demand and the best pay, these three lead. They are licensed trades, which means more training and red tape, but the licence is exactly what protects your wage and keeps the work coming.

Electrical is the standout. Electricians are listed in national shortage, and the energy shift (solar, batteries, EV chargers, electrifying homes and industry) points to steady, long-term need. Median weekly earnings are around $2,200, among the higher-paying trades and well above the typical Australian wage. Plumbing is close behind at around $2,000 a week, with the same shortage story and the security of essential, always-needed work. Air conditioning and refrigeration (fridgies) also sits around $2,000 a week and is quietly one of the best long-term picks, because a warming climate, more data centres and the cold chain for food and medicine all lean on it.

•Electrical: strongest pay of the three and best exposure to the energy transition, and in national shortage. Most theory-heavy of the three.
•Plumbing: rock-solid essential-service demand, strong pay, physical and sometimes unpleasant work.
•HVAC/refrigeration: underrated, climate and technology tailwinds, mix of trade skills and electronics.
•All figures are approximate median weekly earnings from the Australian Government's yourcareer.gov.au, and vary a lot with experience, location, overtime and whether you run your own business.

Strong and steady: carpentry and welding/fabrication

Carpentry is the biggest building trade and one of the most sought-after, tied directly to Australia's push to build more homes. Median weekly earnings are around $1,787 (roughly $93,000 a year). It is a great all-rounder trade: broad skills, clear path to running your own crew or becoming a builder, and work almost everywhere. The trade-off is that a chunk of your pay depends on the building cycle, which rises and falls with interest rates.

Welding and fabrication (welders and structural steel trades workers) sits around $1,755 a week and has a genuinely exciting decade ahead. Defence and shipbuilding, including the AUKUS submarine program, plus renewables and infrastructure, mean skilled welders will be wanted for a long time. The catch is that a lot of the biggest money is in specific regions and projects, so you may need to be willing to travel or relocate.

•Carpentry: highest-volume demand, versatile, clear route to your own business, but cyclical.
•Welding/fabrication: strong pipeline from defence, mining and renewables, often location-dependent.
•Both reward specialising: high-end joinery, or coded and pressure-vessel welding, pays noticeably more.

Still in demand, but a tougher money picture: automotive, painting, bricklaying

These trades still turn up on the shortage lists and will keep employing plenty of people. Be honest with yourself, though: on pay and long-term momentum they generally sit below the trades above.

Automotive (motor mechanics) has steady demand and is a great fit if you genuinely love cars, but typical pay tends to run lower than the building and energy trades, and the work is changing fast as vehicles go electric and more computerised. That shift is an opportunity if you retrain into EV and hybrid work, and a risk if you do not. Painting has a shorter apprenticeship and lower barrier to entry, with pay around $1,400 a week and demand rated moderate rather than red-hot. Bricklaying is physically brutal and has softened as buildings increasingly use other methods, though skilled brickies are still scarce and can charge well when work is on.

•Automotive: pick it for the passion, then future-proof yourself with EV and diagnostics skills.
•Painting: quicker to qualify and lower entry cost, but lower pay and more competition.
•Bricklaying: hard on the body and more cyclical, yet a shortage of good brickies keeps rates decent for those who stay.

What you will actually earn (read this before the pay dazzles you)

Two different things get muddled in trade ads: apprentice pay and qualified pay. During your apprenticeship you are a learner, and the pay reflects that. Apprentice wages are set by an award (or an enterprise agreement on some sites) and depend on your apprenticeship year and sometimes your age. First-year pay is low, and it steps up each year as your skills grow. Adult apprentices (usually 21 and over) are often entitled to higher minimum rates. Do not take a recruiter's word for it: check your exact rate with the Fair Work Pay Calculator, linked below.

The qualified figures quoted above are median weekly earnings published by the Australian Government's yourcareer.gov.au. Treat them as approximate. What you take home depends heavily on overtime, being on the tools in a high-demand region, your specialty, and above all whether you eventually get your own licence and run your own business, which is where trade incomes really climb.

•Apprentice pay: low in year one, rising yearly; set by award, apprenticeship year and age.
•Qualified pay: solid, and highest for licensed trades and business owners.
•Sacrifice now, earn later: you earn while you learn and finish with no student debt, unlike a uni degree.

The downsides nobody puts in the brochure

A trade can be a brilliant career, but go in with your eyes open. The work is physical and it adds up over a lifetime: knees, backs and shoulders take a beating, and some trades (roofing, bricklaying, plumbing) are harder on the body than others. Early starts, hot summers, cold winters and outdoor sites are normal. Some trades expose you to real hazards, from asbestos to silica dust to electrical risk, so safety habits matter for life.

There is also a completion problem worth knowing. A large share of apprentices never finish, often because of low first-year pay, tough conditions, or a poor employer. Your boss matters enormously: a good employer who actually teaches you is worth more than picking the highest-paid trade. And self-employment, the path to the big money, means running a business: quoting, chasing invoices, insurance and paperwork, which is a different skill from the trade itself.

•Physical toll and weather are part of the deal, every day.
•Many apprentices drop out; the first year is the hardest to get through.
•The employer you sign with matters more than the trade you pick.
•The best incomes come from running your own business, which is its own job on top of the trade.

How to choose the one that is right for you

Since every trade here is in demand, do not just chase the biggest number. Pick for fit, because finishing the apprenticeship is what determines whether you get the good money at all.

Ask yourself a few honest questions, then go and test your answer before you commit.

•Indoors or outdoors? Electrical and automotive are often more sheltered; carpentry, bricklaying and roofing are out in it.
•Hands-on maths and problem-solving, or pure physical craft? Electrical and refrigeration are more technical; carpentry and bricklaying are more hands-and-eyes.
•Do you want to run your own business one day? Electrical, plumbing and carpentry have very clear owner-operator paths.
•Try before you buy: do some work experience, a pre-apprenticeship course, or a school-based apprenticeship to see if you actually like the day-to-day.
•Line up a good employer. A quality host or group training organisation that trains you properly beats a flashy pay rate.

Sources and official links

Straight from the source. These open in a new tab.

The most in-demand trades in Australia

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The highest paying trades in AustraliaElectricians and plumbers are the standouts: strong pay, steady demand, and a licence that protects what you can charge. On the government's own weekly earnings tables bricklaying tends to sit at the top, with electrical and plumbing close behind. But most trades land in a fairly narrow band, and the biggest pay jumps come from getting licensed, working overtime, heading to mining or remote work, or going out on your own.The most in-demand trades in AustraliaElectrical, plumbing, and air conditioning and refrigeration are the most consistently in-demand trades in Australia, alongside welding and fabrication. But here is the honest part: almost every trade on this site is in national shortage right now, so "which trade is most in demand" matters far less than which work actually suits you. A trade you stick with beats a hot trade you quit.Which trade should you do?There is no single "best" trade, only the one that fits you. If you want the strongest mix of pay and long-term demand, electrical and plumbing sit at the top, with air conditioning and refrigeration and carpentry close behind. But the right choice depends just as much on the kind of work you can see yourself doing every day, the conditions you can handle, and whether you want to work indoors, outdoors, on your feet, or up a ladder.Is a trade worth it?For a lot of Australians, yes. A trade lets you earn while you learn, finish with a nationally recognised qualification and no university debt, and move into work that is in steady demand and hard to send offshore. But it is not easy money: the apprentice years pay is low, the work is physical, and a large share of trade apprentices do not finish, so it is only worth it if the trade and the lifestyle genuinely suit you.

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General guidance only

Answers here are general guidance to point you in the right direction - always check official sources and ask your supervisor for your specific situation.