Each year we publish a new edition of our Defence Industry Insights. This year, our ninth edition is packed full of analysis on defence industry salary changes and workforce demographics. Here’s a summary of some of the main takeaways in this year’s edition.
SALARIES RISE AGAIN
From 2021 to 2022 salaries have risen by an average of 2.2%, a significant rise from 1.3% the previous year. However, we do not anticipate salaries continuing to rise unchecked into the future, and employers must be cognisant of this when planning their attraction and retention strategies.
Map shows salary increases by state.
EVP & WORK LIFE BALANCE GROWS IN IMPORTANCE
Work life balance has appeared as the most important factor impacting defence industry workers' job satisfaction, with 73% of all workers saying it was one of their top five factors impacting job satisfaction. This is up 10% compared to 2021's results.
Work life balance includes flexible hours, location and hybrid employment models.
Further education support is now in the top 3 of all additional benefits defence industry workers receive, behind bonus payments and salary sacrifice packages.
We recommend using the Additional Benefits graph in this edition of the Defence Industry Insights to better understand what other organisations offer when it comes to benefits outside of salary and statutory superannuation.
Attrition in defence industry varies by organisation, but some employers have been reporting attrition rates above 20%. Crafting an attractive employee value proposition (EVP) is central to any defence industry employer’s attraction and retention policy.
Graph shows a breakdown of additional benefits being received across defence industry. Respondents to the workforce survey were asked to select all benefits that applied to them.
WORKFORCE INCREASINGLY OPEN TO CONTRACT WORK
Our survey shows that 20% of the workforce are currently contracting.
Extremely high confidence in defence industry providing a long term career means that more and more workers are considering making the switch from permanent to contract.
Our survey shows that over half the workforce are either very or somewhat likely to consider contract work in the next 12 months. Motivators to pursue contract work include access to a greater variety of work and higher levels of remuneration, which are often 20% higher than in equivalent permanent work.
Adopting contractors as part of your workforce strategy is a smart way to get access to parts of the workforce otherwise unavailable.
Chart shows how interested salary survey respondents are in taking contract roles in the future. Respondents were asked ‘How likely are you to seriously consider taking a contract role in the next 12 months?’
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Much more data and insight is available. Download the Defence Industry Insights - Ninth Edition (it's free!) for access.
If you’re looking for work in defence industry, you can check out our current vacancies here. Alternatively, our consultants are always keen to chat if you’d like to get in touch directly.
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