Kitchenhands

ANZSCO ID 8513

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
138,500
Future Growth
7.7%
Weekly Earnings
$939
Full-Time Share
17%
Female Share
55%
Average age
26

Summary

Kitchenhands assist kitchen and service staff in preparing and serving food, and clean food preparation and service areas.

Also known as: Kitchen Steward.

Specialisations: Dishwasher, Pantry Attendant, Sandwich Hand.

Formal qualifications are not usually required to work as a Kitchenhand. Some workers have a certificate II in hospitality or kitchen operations.

Tasks

  • cleaning kitchens, food preparation areas and sculleries

  • cleaning cooking and general utensils used in kitchens and restaurants

  • transferring, weighing and checking supplies and equipment

  • assembling and preparing ingredients for cooking, and preparing salads, savouries and sandwiches

  • packing food and beverage trays for serving

  • cooking, toasting and heating simple food items

Characteristics

Job Type
Labourers
Skill Level
Entry level
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
Above average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Practical
  • Administrative
Physical Demand
  • Medium
  • Heavy

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 moderately
  • is likely to reach 137,900 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
7.7%
(or 9,900 jobs)
From
128,100
in 2021
To
137,900
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 119,500
2012 121,100
2013 128,200
2014 128,000
2015 126,500
2016 131,100
2017 134,000
2018 130,800
2019 152,900
2020 123,200
2021 128,100
2026 137,900

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 19% of people employed as Kitchenhands work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 47 percentage points below 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).

    Median full-time earnings are $939 per week, this is much lower than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $866
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $1,103

    Median hourly earnings are $24, 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. 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 Kitchenhands All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 939 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
Accommodation and Food Services
72.1%
2
Health Care and Social Assistance
19.4%
3
Manufacturing
2.2%
4
Retail Trade
1.8%
5
Other industries
4.5%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

28.3% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

25.6% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

20.8% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

8.2% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

12.2% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.4% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.9% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.5% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Kitchenhands All Jobs Average
NSW 28.3 31.6
VIC 25.6 25.6
QLD 20.8 20.0
SA 8.2 7.0
WA 12.2 10.8
TAS 2.4 2.0
NT 0.9 1.0
ACT 1.5 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
26
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
55%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Kitchenhands is 26 years. This is younger than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 15 to 19 years.

    Females make up 55% of the workforce. This is 7 percentage points above 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 Kitchenhands All Jobs Average
15-19 31.0 5.0
20-24 16.5 9.3
25-34 15.4 22.9
35-44 10.1 22.0
45-54 13.4 21.6
55-59 6.9 9.0
60-64 4.7 6.0
65 and Over 2.2 4.2
Median Age 26 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 usually required to work as a Kitchenhand. Some workers have a certificate II in hospitality or kitchen operations.

Visit

  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Tourism, Travel and Hospitality 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 Kitchenhands All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 2.1 10.1
Bachelor degree 8.2 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 5.9 11.6
Certificate III/IV 10.8 21.1
Year 12 31.5 18.1
Year 11 11.6 4.8
Year 10 and below 29.9 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 Kitchenhands who are reliable, work hard and have good people skills.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 34%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 32%

    Active listening

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

  • 30%

    Monitoring

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

  • 30%

    Time management

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

  • 30%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 29%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 29%

    Critical thinking

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

  • 29%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 27%

    Judgment and decision making

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

  • 27%

    Quality control analysis

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

  • 27%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 27%

    Complex problem solving

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

  • 25%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 25%

    Learning strategies

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

  • 23%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 21%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 21%

    Active learning

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

  • 20%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 18%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 18%

    Operation monitoring

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


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 41%

    Food production

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

  • 39%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 34%

    Customer and personal service

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

  • 33%

    English language

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

  • 33%

    Chemistry

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

  • 29%

    Public safety and security

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

  • 29%

    Administration and management

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

  • 27%

    Education and training

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

  • 26%

    Production and processing

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

  • 25%

    Psychology

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

  • 24%

    Computers and electronics

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

  • 24%

    Sales and marketing

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

  • 23%

    Law and government

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

  • 22%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 21%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 20%

    Clerical

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

  • 19%

    Engineering and technology

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

  • 18%

    Personnel and human resources

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

  • 17%

    Economics and accounting

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

  • 16%

    Physics

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


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 41%

    Extent flexibility

    Bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • 39%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 37%

    Manual dexterity

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

  • 37%

    Near vision

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

  • 37%

    Trunk strength

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

  • 36%

    Arm-hand steadiness

    Keep your hand or arm steady.

  • 36%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 36%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 34%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 34%

    Problem spotting

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

  • 34%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 34%

    Stamina

    Exercise for a long time without getting winded or out of breath.

  • 34%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 32%

    Sorting or ordering

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

  • 32%

    Colour discrimination

    Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.

  • 32%

    Speed of limb movement

    Quickly move the arms and legs.

  • 30%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 29%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 29%

    Static strength

    Lift, push, pull, or carry things.

  • 27%

    Inductive reasoning

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


Activities

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

  • 54%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 41%

    Doing physically active work

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

  • 41%

    Handling and moving objects

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

  • 38%

    Looking for changes over time

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

  • 36%

    Coordinating the work of a team

    Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.

  • 36%

    Planning and prioritising work

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

  • 33%

    Checking for errors or defects

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

  • 33%

    Communicating within a team

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

  • 32%

    Training and teaching others

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

  • 31%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

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

  • 30%

    Making decisions and solving problems

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

  • 30%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

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

  • 28%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 27%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 27%

    Controlling equipment or machines

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

  • 26%

    Assessing and evaluating things

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

  • 24%

    Checking compliance with standards

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

  • 24%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 23%

    Leading and encouraging a team

    Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

  • 22%

    Estimating amounts, costs and resources

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


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.

  • 95%

    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.

  • 38%

    Enterprising

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

  • 38%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 24%

    Analytical

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

  • 19%

    Creative

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


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 67%

    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.

  • 67%

    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.

  • 29%

    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.

  • 24%

    Achievement

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

  • 24%

    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:
  • 99%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 83%

    Contact with people

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

  • 80%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 79%

    Health and safety of others

    Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.

  • 79%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 79%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 78%

    Using your hands to handle, control, or feel

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

  • 77%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 77%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 76%

    Walking and running

    Spend time walking and running.

  • 76%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 75%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 75%

    Wear common protective or safety equipment

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

  • 73%

    Minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings

    Be exposed to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings.

  • 72%

    Repeating same tasks

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

  • 69%

    Unstructured work

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

  • 65%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 63%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 62%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 62%

    Bending or twisting your body

    Spend time bending or twisting your body.

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, 35-2021.00 - Food Preparation Workers.


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