OSCA 343331

Shearer

Overview

  • Employed persons

    2,400

  • Employment status

    65.4% Full time

    34.5% Part time

  • Median age

    37 years

  • Employment by sex

    4.3% Female

    95.6% Male

    Almost completely male dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    5.7%

  • Main employing industry

    Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

Indicator Shearer Total employment
Employed persons 2,400 12,049,400
Median age 37 years 40 years
Full-time share 65.4% 64.2%
Part-time share 34.5% 35.8%
Female employment share 4.3% 48.5%
Male employment share 95.6% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Almost completely male dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 5.7% 2.2%
Main employing industry Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Shearers remove wool and hair from sheep, goats, alpacas and other animals.

What the occupation involves

  • Selects and prepares shearing equipment
  • Catches and positions animals for shearing
  • Shears and removes wool and hair from animals
  • Identifies contaminated fibre and injured, infected and diseased animals
  • Treats skin cuts on shorn animals
  • Returns shorn animals to let-out pens for counting and checking
  • May service, maintain and repair shearing equipment
  • May shear stud animals with hand shears or special combs

Common occupation titles

No alternative occupation titles are listed for this occupation.

Specialisations

No specialisations are listed for this occupation.

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 3
equivalent to a mid-level Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification (Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least 2 years’ on-the-job training).

Note: While skill levels are described using formal education levels, some people use a combination of informal learning, on-the-job training and personal experience to achieve an equivalent level.

Licensing or registration requirements

No licensing or registration requirements are listed for this occupation.

OSCA structure

Technicians and Trades Workers (3)

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Shearer Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 93.6% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Manufacturing 0.5% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Administrative and Support Services 0.3% Construction 8.9%
    Other Services 0.3% Education and Training 8.8%
    Construction 0.2% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Retail Trade 0.2% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Wholesale Trade 0.2% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Transport, Postal and Warehousing 0.1% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Accommodation and Food Services 0.0% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Arts and Recreation Services 0.0% Financial and Insurance Services 3.7%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    States and territories

    Employment distribution by states and territories, 2021

    • New South Wales

      37.9%

    • Victoria

      21.9%

    • Queensland

      2.4%

    • South Australia

      15.7%

    • Tasmania

      5.4%

    • Northern Territory

      0.0%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      0.3%

    Shearer Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 910 37.9% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 520 21.9% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 60 2.4% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 380 15.7% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 390 16.3% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 130 5.4% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 0 0.0% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 10 0.3% 248,600 2.1%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    Age and sex

    Employment distibution by age group and sex, 2021

    Shearer

    Total employment

    Age group Shearer Total employment
    15–24 years 18.2% 14.3%
    25–34 years 27.2% 22.7%
    35–44 years 16.9% 22.3%
    45–54 years 18.6% 20.4%
    55–64 years 15.4% 15.3%
    65–74 years 3.4% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.3% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Shearer Total employment
    Female 4.3% 48.5%
    Male 95.6% 51.5%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    On this page

      OSCA occupation profiles data

      This file contains data available from the OSCA Occupation Profile page.

      Use of this data must include the relevant attribution text provided.

      OSCA Occupation data - 2021 Census.xlsx

      xlsx 1236447

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      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) is the skill-based classification used to categorise occupations across the Australian labour market. OSCA is used to define occupations across all official occupational statistics. OSCA replaces the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

      Each job is classified to one, and only one, group of jobs at each level of the classification with no overlaps. This prevents the accidental double-counting of roles within the Australian labour market. For more information about OSCA, visit the What is OSCA information page, or the ABS website.

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