7 September 2005 
 
Fifty seven per cent of people under 30 living in Canberra plan to spend the bulk of their working life outside of the ACT according to a new poll* released today by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.  
 
The survey appears to support anecdotal evidence that Canberra is feeling the brunt of the skills shortage with its young people lured to other cities rather than exploring local opportunities.  
 
The poll of 300 people aged under 30 living in Canberra revealed that 171 (57%) believed they would spend the majority of their working life outside the ACT compared with the 43% who felt Canberra would primarily be their base.  
 
Of those destined to leave the ACT many had immediate plans, with 27% leaving in 1-2 years, 22% in 0-6 months.  
 
The Institute said it has heard from many of its Canberra firms the difficulty in finding and retaining staff and this survey highlighted the fact that smaller cities are particularly more vulnerable to a mobile workforce.  
 
“Despite a plethora of opportunities in Canberra it appears that Canberra is and will continue to feel the skills shortage as young people can choose where, when and often how they want to work,” said Institute CEO, Mr Stephen Harrison.  
 
The Institute said it is working to address the problem of an accounting skills shortage, its most significant move being to amend the CA Program (the post tertiary course that trains Chartered Accountants) to allow entry to graduates from non-accounting degrees.  
 
“It is hoped this very significant change to the requirements of the CA Program will go some way to easing the skill shortage in accounting, particularly in markets such as Canberra,” Mr Harrison said.  
 
The Institute said it was working actively in Canberra to promote local Chartered Accounting opportunities through a range of initiatives including its CA Achiever Program, University presentations and on campus activities.  
 
The ACT’s current advertising campaign, which encourages people to both visit and live in Canberra, has also been strongly endorsed by the Institute.  
 
*The poll was conducted in Canberra CBD on Friday August 26 with face to face interviews carried out on people aged 15 - 30 currently living in Canberra.  
 
Of the 300 people surveyed 171 stated they would spend most of their working life outside of the ACT, 129 people inside.  
 
Of those who indicated they would leave:  

• 37 (22%) said it would be in 0-6 months
 

• 33 (19%) said it would be in 6-12 months
 

• 47 (27%) said it would be 1-2 years
 

• 29 (17%) said it would be 2-4 years
 

• 16 (9%) said it would be 4-8 years
 

• 6 (4%) said it would be more than 8 years
 

• 3 were unable to answer