Food and Drink Factory Workers

ANZSCO ID 8311

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
33,900
Future Growth
17.5%
Weekly Earnings
$1,310
Full-Time Share
72%
Female Share
30%
Average age
41

Summary

Food and Drink Factory Workers perform routine tasks in manufacturing food and beverages.

Tasks

  • weighing, measuring, mixing, dissolving and boiling ingredients

  • adding materials, such as spices and preservatives, to food and beverages

  • operating heating, chilling, freezing, pasteurising, carbonating, sulphuring and desulphuring plant

  • monitoring product quality before packaging by inspecting, taking samples and adjusting treatment conditions when necessary

  • operating machines to peel, core, slice, dice, pit and juice fruit and vegetables

  • cleaning equipment, pumps, hoses, storage tanks, vessels and floors, and maintaining infestation control programs

  • regulating speed of conveyors and crusher rollers, and adjusting tension of rollers to ensure total extraction of juice from sugar cane

  • moving products from production lines into storage and shipping areas

  • packaging and bottling products


Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. The latest data are for the five years from November 2021 to November 2026. Over this period, the number of workers:

  • is expected to grow very strongly
  • is likely to reach 23,300 by 2026.
  • Source: Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

    Notes: The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.

    Employment projections figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Calculations based on these rounded figures may result in differences to the numbers that are displayed on this page. Employment projections data (including occupations) can be downloaded from the Employment Projections page.

Projected Change
17.5%
(or 3,500 jobs)
From
19,800
in 2021
To
23,300
in 2026

Number of Workers

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.
Year Employment
2011 26,200
2012 29,400
2013 26,900
2014 31,700
2015 28,900
2016 23,600
2017 26,900
2018 38,900
2019 28,400
2020 32,400
2021 19,800
2026 23,300

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 75% of people employed as Food and Drink Factory Workers work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 9 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 42 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    More than a third of workers regularly work overtime or extra hours (either paid or unpaid).

    Median full-time earnings are $1,310 per week, this is much lower than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $1,020
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $1,585

    Median hourly earnings are $31, this is lower than the all jobs median ($41 per hour).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. Overtime hours: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, 2021. Full-time median earnings and median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021. Compared to all jobs median.

Weekly Earnings (Before Tax)

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Earnings Food and Drink Factory Workers All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 1,310 1,593
Total Earnings 0 0

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.


Industries

Main industries

1
Manufacturing
84.7%
2
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
5.0%
3
Accommodation and Food Services
3.8%
4
Retail Trade
2.7%
5
Other industries
4.2%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

24.2% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

36.0% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

19.2% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

10.7% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

5.1% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

4.4% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.1% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

0.2% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Food and Drink Factory Workers All Jobs Average
NSW 24.2 31.6
VIC 36.0 25.6
QLD 19.2 20.0
SA 10.7 7.0
WA 5.1 10.8
TAS 4.4 2.0
NT 0.1 1.0
ACT 0.2 1.9


  • Around 50% of Food and Drink Factory Workers live outside of capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 38%.

    Victoria and South Australia have a large share of employment relative to their population size.

    The regions with the largest share of workers are:

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
41
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
30%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Food and Drink Factory Workers is 41 years. This is similar to the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 30% of the workforce. This is 18 percentage points below the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Food and Drink Factory Workers All Jobs Average
15-19 3.6 5.0
20-24 9.0 9.3
25-34 22.2 22.9
35-44 22.7 22.0
45-54 24.3 21.6
55-59 10.2 9.0
60-64 6.0 6.0
65 and Over 2.1 4.2
Median Age 41 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Formal qualifications are not essential to work as a Food or Drink Factory Worker. Although some workers have a certificate II or III in food processing.

Visit

  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Food Processing VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Food and Drink Factory Workers All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 2.7 10.1
Bachelor degree 8.9 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 6.6 11.6
Certificate III/IV 20.0 21.1
Year 12 27.0 18.1
Year 11 8.7 4.8
Year 10 and below 26.1 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Food and Drink Factory Workers who are reliable, hardworking and have good people skills.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 43%

    Operation and control

    Controlling equipment or systems.

  • 43%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 43%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 43%

    Operation monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

  • 43%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 41%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 39%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 39%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 39%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 39%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 39%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 37%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 36%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 32%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 32%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 30%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 30%

    Quality control analysis

    Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.

  • 29%

    Troubleshooting

    Figuring out why a machine or system went wrong and working out what to do about it.

  • 27%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 25%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 52%

    Food production

    Planting, growing, and harvesting food (both plant and animal), including storage and handling.

  • 51%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 48%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 46%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 43%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 41%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 38%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 38%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 32%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 31%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 29%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.

  • 24%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 22%

    Technical design

    Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • 19%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 19%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 18%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 16%

    Physics

    The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.

  • 13%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 12%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 12%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 48%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 48%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 48%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 46%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 45%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 45%

    Control precision

    Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

  • 43%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 43%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 43%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 43%

    Manual dexterity

    Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

  • 43%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 41%

    Trunk strength

    Use your abdominal and lower back muscles a number of times without 'giving out' or fatiguing.

  • 39%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 37%

    Auditory attention

    Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.

  • 37%

    Hearing sensitivity

    Tell the difference between sounds.

  • 37%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 37%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 34%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 32%

    Arm-hand steadiness

    Keep your hand or arm steady.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 80%

    Handling and moving objects

    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.

  • 65%

    Controlling equipment or machines

    Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).

  • 65%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 57%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 55%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 55%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 52%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 52%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 49%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 49%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 48%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 47%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 47%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 46%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 45%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 44%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 44%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 38%

    Estimating amounts, costs and resources

    Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

  • 36%

    Driving vehicles or equipment

    Running, manoeuvring, navigating, or driving things like forklifts, vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.

  • 33%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 100%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 86%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 48%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 43%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 24%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 14%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 62%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 48%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 31%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 29%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 29%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 24%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 89%

    Wear common protective or safety equipment

    Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.

  • 86%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 85%

    Pace of work set by equipment

    Pace of work depends on the speed of equipment or machinery.

  • 84%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 83%

    Loud or uncomfortable sounds

    Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.

  • 83%

    Using your hands to handle, control, or feel

    Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.

  • 82%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 80%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 80%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 80%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 78%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 78%

    Health and safety of others

    Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.

  • 75%

    Exposure to contaminants

    Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.

  • 74%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 73%

    Responsible for outcomes

    Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.

  • 72%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 71%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 71%

    Walking and running

    Spend time walking and running.

  • 68%

    Dangerous equipment

    Work near dangerous equipment like saws, machinery with open moving parts, or moving traffic.

  • 68%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-3092.00 - Food Batchmakers.


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