Home / Occupation profile / Bakers and Pastrycooks
Print Print

Bakers and Pastrycooks

ANZSCO ID 3511

Find Vacancies Opens in a new window

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
27,700
Future Growth
2.9%
Weekly Earnings
$1,196
Full-Time Share
64%
Female Share
32%
Average age
35
About this data

Summary

Bakers and Pastrycooks prepare and bake bread loaves and rolls, buns, cakes, biscuits and pastry goods.

Tasks

  • checking the cleanliness of equipment and operation of premises before production runs to ensure compliance with occupational health and safety regulations

  • checking the quality of raw materials and weighing ingredients

  • kneading, maturing, cutting, moulding, mixing and shaping dough and pastry goods

  • preparing pastry fillings

  • monitoring oven temperatures and product appearance to determine baking times

  • coordinating the forming, loading, baking, unloading, de-panning and cooling of batches of bread, rolls and pastry products

  • glazing buns and pastries, and decorating cakes with cream and icing

  • operating machines which roll and mould dough and cut biscuits

  • emptying, cleaning and greasing baking trays, tins and other cooking equipment

Characteristics

Job Type
Technicians And Trades Workers
Skill Level
Medium skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
3511 Bakers and Pastrycooks This occupation is Current selected
Unemployment Rate
Below 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 in this occupation is likely to remain stable.

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
2.9%
(or 900 jobs)
From
30,000
in 2021
To
30,800
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 30,800
2012 26,200
2013 20,400
2014 33,100
2015 31,800
2016 21,100
2017 34,900
2018 35,000
2019 32,400
2020 30,300
2021 30,000
2026 30,800

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 72% of people employed as Bakers and Pastrycooks work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 6 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 44 hours per week in their main job. This is the same as the all jobs average.

    Median full-time earnings are $1,196 per week, this is much lower than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $1,143
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $1,346

    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. 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 Bakers and Pastrycooks All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 1,196 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
62.4%
2
Retail Trade
25.5%
3
Accommodation and Food Services
9.4%
4
Wholesale Trade
1.2%
5
Other industries
1.5%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

30.9% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

29.1% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

18.1% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

7.8% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

9.8% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.5% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.6% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.2% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Bakers and Pastrycooks All Jobs Average
NSW 30.9 31.6
VIC 29.1 25.6
QLD 18.1 20.0
SA 7.8 7.0
WA 9.8 10.8
TAS 2.5 2.0
NT 0.6 1.0
ACT 1.2 1.9


  • Around 62% of Bakers and Pastrycooks live in capital cities, similar to the all jobs average of 62%.

    Victoria has a large share of employment relative to its population size.

    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
35
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
32%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Bakers and Pastrycooks is 35 years. This is younger than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 32% of the workforce. This is 16 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 Bakers and Pastrycooks All Jobs Average
15-19 5.6 5.0
20-24 13.7 9.3
25-34 30.4 22.9
35-44 22.6 22.0
45-54 17.1 21.6
55-59 5.6 9.0
60-64 3.3 6.0
65 and Over 1.7 4.2
Median Age 35 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 Baker or Pastrycook. Although some workers have a certificate III or IV in retail baking or patisserie. These courses are often completed as part of an apprenticeship.

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 Bakers and Pastrycooks All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 1.9 10.1
Bachelor degree 8.3 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 9.6 11.6
Certificate III/IV 43.4 21.1
Year 12 18.5 18.1
Year 11 4.3 4.8
Year 10 and below 14.2 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 Bakers and Pastrycooks who are reliable, motivated and are willing to take direction.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 43%

    Active learning

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

  • 43%

    Critical thinking

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

  • 41%

    Monitoring

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

  • 41%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 41%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 39%

    Active listening

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

  • 39%

    Judgment and decision making

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

  • 39%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 39%

    Time management

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

  • 37%

    Operation monitoring

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

  • 37%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 32%

    Quality control analysis

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

  • 32%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 30%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 30%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 29%

    Complex problem solving

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

  • 29%

    Learning strategies

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

  • 29%

    Operation and control

    Controlling equipment or systems.

  • 27%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 18%

    Troubleshooting

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

Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 61%

    Production and processing

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

  • 57%

    Food production

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

  • 51%

    Customer and personal service

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

  • 41%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 39%

    Education and training

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

  • 37%

    English language

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

  • 33%

    Sales and marketing

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

  • 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%

    Public safety and security

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

  • 28%

    Technical design

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

  • 27%

    Clerical

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

  • 24%

    Engineering and technology

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

  • 24%

    Personnel and human resources

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

  • 24%

    Physics

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

  • 22%

    Mechanical

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

  • 20%

    Transportation

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

  • 20%

    Law and government

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

  • 19%

    Foreign language

    Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • 14%

    Economics and accounting

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

Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 52%

    Near vision

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

  • 52%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 45%

    Colour discrimination

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

  • 45%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 43%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 43%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 43%

    Perceptual speed

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

  • 43%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Sorting or ordering

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

  • 43%

    Visualization

    Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • 41%

    Arm-hand steadiness

    Keep your hand or arm steady.

  • 41%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 41%

    Manual dexterity

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

  • 41%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 39%

    Inductive reasoning

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

  • 39%

    Problem spotting

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

  • 39%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 37%

    Control precision

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

  • 36%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 36%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

Activities

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

  • 54%

    Looking for changes over time

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

  • 50%

    Planning and prioritising work

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

  • 50%

    Handling and moving objects

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

  • 46%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 41%

    Making decisions and solving problems

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

  • 40%

    Checking for errors or defects

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

  • 38%

    Communicating within a team

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

  • 38%

    Training and teaching others

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

  • 38%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 38%

    Assessing and evaluating things

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

  • 38%

    Coordinating the work of a team

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

  • 37%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

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

  • 36%

    Doing physically active work

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

  • 35%

    Coaching and developing others

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

  • 34%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 30%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 29%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 28%

    Guiding and directing staff

    Guiding and directing staff, including setting and monitoring performance standards.

  • 23%

    Checking compliance with standards

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

  • 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.

  • 57%

    Administrative

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

  • 43%

    Enterprising

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

  • 33%

    Creative

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

  • 19%

    Analytical

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

  • 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.

  • 71%

    Achievement

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

  • 52%

    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.

  • 48%

    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.

  • 43%

    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.

  • 43%

    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.

  • 36%

    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.

Demands

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

  • 88%

    Contact with people

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

  • 88%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 86%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 85%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 85%

    Unstructured work

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

  • 84%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 84%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 83%

    Wear common protective or safety equipment

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

  • 81%

    Using your hands to handle, control, or feel

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

  • 80%

    Very hot or cold temperatures

    Work in very hot or cold temperatures.

  • 78%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 77%

    Minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings

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

  • 75%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 75%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 74%

    Health and safety of others

    Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.

  • 74%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 73%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 72%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 71%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 68%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

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, 51-3011.00 - Bakers.

Links and downloads

Back to top