The professional workforce behind university change
University Professional Workforce Insights 2026
Technology, Transformation & Corporate Talent across Australian Higher Education
An analysis of the professional workforce supporting change across Australia’s university sector.
Australian universities are navigating significant change across technology, AI, operating models, governance and student services.
Behind that change sits a professional workforce responsible for turning strategy into delivery.
Public Sector People analysed LinkedIn Talent Insights data across a range of non-academic roles to explore the people, skills and workforce trends supporting change across Higher Education.
7,758professionals analysed across non-academic roles
Spanning technology, transformation, data and corporate services. Academic and teaching roles are outside the scope.
+39%year-on-year growth in Artificial Intelligence skills
+50%year-on-year growth in Stakeholder Mapping
54%identify flexible working as an important employer proposition
LinkedIn Talent Insights | September 2026 Analysis and interpretation by Public Sector People
01
Executive snapshot
Five signals for university leaders.
The professional workforce supporting university change combines technical depth with business understanding and stakeholder capability.
+50%
Change needs stakeholder capability
Stakeholder Mapping recorded the highest reported skill growth in the supplied data, ahead of AI and Digital Transformation.
+39%
AI raises questions beyond specialist hiring
Growth in AI skills invites leaders to consider AI literacy, specialist expertise and governance across existing functions.
54%
Flexibility leads candidate priorities
Flexible working and compensation outrank innovative projects as employer propositions among the professionals analysed.
1,108
Professional capability spans functions
Project Managers are the largest role group in the analysis, alongside roles in technology, data, analysis and corporate services.
7,758
Professional roles, interconnected markets
The analysis covers a range of non-academic roles, with observed movement between Higher Education and adjacent industries.
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026.
02
Professional workforce
Transformation does not sit within one team.
Universities increasingly rely on professional capability spanning projects, technology, data, business analysis, operations and corporate services.
The range of non-academic roles examined by Public Sector People illustrates the breadth of capability supporting university change.
Most common roles among the professionals analysed
Professionals and share of the professionals analysed. Percentages as supplied, rounded.
Project Manager
1,108 14%
Administrator
555 7%
Business Analyst
416 5%
Senior Project Manager
392 5%
Marketing Specialist
354 5%
Data Analyst
339 4%
Senior Business Analyst
320 4%
Marketing Manager
303 4%
Information Technology Specialist
249 3%
Marketing Coordinator
189 2%
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026.
The data reinforces an important point: university transformation is not delivered by technology teams alone.
Project delivery, analysis, administration, data, communication and stakeholder capability all contribute to the implementation of institutional change.
A university may introduce a new platform, operating model or AI capability through technology — but successful adoption frequently depends on the professional teams connecting the change to people, processes and services.
03
Skills profile
Technology matters. So does the ability to navigate complexity.
Technical and data capability sit alongside business analysis and stakeholder skills among the professionals analysed.
Skills already defining this workforce
Professionals reporting each skill; share of the professionals analysed. Skills can overlap.
Senior Stakeholder Management
1,300 17%
Data Analysis
1,289 17%
Stakeholder Management
1,280 16%
Business Analysis
1,211 16%
Analytical Skills
1,130 15%
SQL
917 12%
Business Process Improvement
867 11%
Python
825 11%
Stakeholder Analysis
798 10%
Business Requirements
733 9%
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026.
The skills mix is notable. Data Analysis, SQL and Python sit alongside Business Analysis, Business Process Improvement and multiple forms of stakeholder capability.
For universities, this creates a workforce challenge that is broader than finding technically qualified candidates.
People working across major change programs may need to interpret complex requirements, operate within distributed governance structures, work across academic and professional teams and bring stakeholders through change.
The strongest candidate may therefore be the person who combines technical or project expertise with the judgement and stakeholder capability required to operate in a complex institution.
04
Growing capabilities
The fastest-growing capability in the data was not purely technical.
Reported year-on-year skill growth among the professionals analysed.
+50%
Stakeholder Mapping
Highest reported growth among the supplied skills.
+40%
ITIL Process
+39%
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
+39%
Azure SQL
+33%
Digital Transformation
+29%
Senior Stakeholder Management
+27%
Microsoft Power Apps
+27%
Applied Machine Learning
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026. Skill growth is not a measure of importance or total sector demand. Absolute skill populations were not supplied.
Stakeholder Mapping recorded 50% year-on-year growth among the professionals analysed — ahead of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation.
That does not mean stakeholder capability is “more important” than AI. Instead, it points to how closely organisational and technical transformation are connected.
As universities introduce new platforms, processes and AI-enabled ways of working, the workforce supporting change increasingly needs to understand not only the technology, but the people and structures around it.
ITIL Implementation and Engine Development had no annual growth percentage shown in the supplied source description; no percentage is assigned here.
05
AI across existing roles
The university AI workforce may not have “AI” in its job title.
+39%Artificial Intelligence skills · year-on-year
+33%Digital Transformation
+27%Applied Machine Learning
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026.
Artificial Intelligence is one of the fastest-growing skills among the Higher Education professionals analysed.
However, the largest groups within the analysis continue to include established roles such as Project Managers, Business Analysts, Data Analysts, Senior Project Managers and technology specialists.
This suggests that AI capability may be developing not only through dedicated AI positions, but through changing expectations across existing professional functions.
This is an interpretation: the supplied aggregate data does not show AI skills by job title.
Conceptual framework: Public Sector People. Not a quantitative chart.
A more nuanced workforce question
Rather than simply asking “Do we need an AI specialist?”, leaders may also need to consider:
Which existing roles now require greater AI literacy?
Where can existing employees be developed?
Which initiatives require specialist technical capability?
Where are governance, risk, data or change skills equally critical?
Which capability should be permanent, and which may be better suited to a project or fixed-term requirement?
06
Talent movement
Your next university transformation hire may not currently work at a university.
The analysis shows professionals moving both into and out of Higher Education from adjacent industries.
Observed movement between Higher Education and adjacent industries
Adjacent industryLost by HEGained by HENet
Education Administration Programs14
24+10
Education11
21+10
Non-profit Organisations14
18+4
IT Services and IT Consulting15
16+1
Business Consulting and Services12
18+6
Banking9
17+8
Software Development13
12-1
Research Services13
10-3
Hospitals and Health Care13
10-3
Government Administration9
13+4
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026. Bars use a common scale; values are observed member movements.
The movement is relatively small in absolute terms, but the direction is useful. Professional talent is already moving between universities and banking, consulting, government, technology and other sectors.
For many transformation, digital, data, project and corporate roles, previous Higher Education experience may therefore be valuable without necessarily being essential.
The more useful question can be whether a candidate has worked successfully within environments characterised by complexity, governance, multiple stakeholder groups and significant organisational change.
07
Candidate priorities
An innovative project may not be enough to win the candidate.
54%Flexible work arrangements
50%Compensation and benefits
21%Innovative projects
Employer value proposition priorities
Share identifying each proposition as important; priorities are not mutually exclusive.
Flexible work arrangements
54%
Excellent compensation and benefits
50%
Job security
36%
Organisational support for work/personal life
35%
Opportunities for career growth
34%
Helpful and supportive direct managers
34%
Clear goals and direction from senior leadership
34%
Company values matching personal values
33%
Challenging and impactful work
33%
Opportunities to learn highly desired skills
31%
Collaborative company culture
31%
Opportunity to work on innovative projects
21%
Inclusive workplace
20%
Happy and inspired employees
19%
Highly talented employees
11%
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026.
Universities can offer candidates complex, meaningful and highly visible transformation work. But the data suggests the project itself should not carry the entire attraction proposition.
Flexible working and compensation were the two highest-ranked employer value propositions among the professionals analysed. Job security, work-life support, career growth, management and leadership also ranked strongly.
Only 21% identified access to innovative projects as an important employer value proposition.
An organisation may have an excellent role and a compelling transformation agenda, but attraction can still be weakened if flexibility, remuneration, progression or leadership expectations are unclear.
Candidate attraction begins before the advertisement is written.
08
Location & employer context
Professional talent pools differ significantly by location.
Location can materially change the size of the available candidate market.
Selected locations · professionals
Greater Melbourne Area
2,971
Greater Sydney Area
2,671
Greater Brisbane Area
888
Gold Coast
147
Greater Newcastle Area
144
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026.
Displayed locations are a selection and do not sum to the full pool.
Selected leading employers
Employer
Professionals
Monash University
455
University of Melbourne
449
UNSW
434
University of Sydney
376
The University of Queensland
280
RMIT University
252
Deakin University
198
Macquarie University
180
University of Technology Sydney
179
Swinburne University of Technology
158
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, September 2026. Counts among the professionals analysed; not a measure of institutional performance.
Among the professionals analysed, Greater Sydney contained 2,671 professionals, compared with 888 in Greater Brisbane and 147 on the Gold Coast.
The numbers alone do not establish whether a particular role will be difficult to fill. They do reinforce why workforce and sourcing strategies should account for local market depth.
For organisations recruiting from smaller professional talent pools, flexibility around sector background, location, hybrid working, transferable skills and engagement model may increase access to capability.
The employer counts provide context around where the professionals analysed are concentrated. They do not indicate whether any university is performing better or worse.
09
Workforce implications
What does the data mean for workforce planning?
Five practical considerations for university leaders translating talent-market signals into workforce decisions.
Define the capability before the title
Job titles vary significantly between organisations. Start with the outcome, technical capability, stakeholder environment and delivery requirement before deciding what the position should be called.
Look beyond Higher Education where appropriate
Professionals already move between Higher Education, consulting, banking, government and technology. Relevant sector experience should be considered alongside transferable experience from other complex environments.
Assess human capability alongside technical skills
Stakeholder Management, Business Analysis and process capability are deeply embedded across the professionals analysed. Major transformation often requires people who can connect technical delivery with institutional reality.
Decide where AI capability should sit
AI skills are growing quickly among the professionals analysed. Universities should distinguish between capability that can be developed internally and specialist gaps that require targeted recruitment.
Build the EVP around what talent actually values
Interesting work matters, but flexibility and remuneration are stronger priorities within this talent pool. The attraction strategy should reflect the market — not simply the project.
Recommendations and interpretation: Public Sector People, informed by the LinkedIn Talent Insights data analysed for this report.
10
About Public Sector People
Understanding the requirement. Connecting the talent market.
Public Sector People works with public-purpose organisations across Australia to recruit specialist temporary, contract and permanent professionals.
Our teams recruit across areas including:
Technology & Digital
Data & AI
Transformation & Projects
Business Analysis
People & Culture
Governance & Risk
Finance
Procurement
Corporate & Business Support
Communications
Program & Policy
Student-facing professional services
Our work across universities, government and other complex organisations gives us visibility across talent markets that increasingly overlap.
Whether an organisation needs long-term institutional capability, specialist project expertise or additional capacity during a period of change, our focus is on understanding the requirement first — and identifying the right talent market from there.
Planning for upcoming professional workforce requirements?
Speak with Public Sector People about what we are seeing across the market.
Research across a range of non-academic professional roles in Higher Education.
Scope of the analysis
This report was prepared by Public Sector People using LinkedIn Talent Insights data accessed in September 2026.
The analysis covers 7,758 LinkedIn members working within the Higher Education industry across 83 non-academic professional-services job titles.
The roles covered span areas including technology, transformation, projects, data, AI, HR, governance, finance, procurement and corporate services.
The analysis was not designed to represent the entire Australian Higher Education workforce. Academic and teaching positions were outside the intended scope.
Source and interpretation
LinkedIn Talent Insights is the underlying data source. Public Sector People is responsible for the analysis and interpretation presented in this report.
How to read these figures
LinkedIn Talent Insights data is based on information supplied by LinkedIn members and LinkedIn’s platform methodology. Figures should therefore be interpreted as talent-market indicators rather than an audited workforce census.
Growth percentages, employer value propositions, talent flows and other statistics reflect the defined Talent Insights search at the time the research was conducted.
Counts and percentages are reproduced as supplied; rounded shares may not sum to 100%.
Skill categories and employer priorities can overlap.
Skill growth does not establish causation, hiring demand or growth of the whole university workforce.
Small absolute talent flows should not be read as total sector hiring.
Location and employer counts describe this pool, not talent shortages or institutional performance.
Data limitations
The supplied material did not include the complete job-title search definition, absolute populations underlying skill-growth rates, the employer-priority response base or the precise talent-flow observation window. These limits should be considered when applying the findings.
Publication: Public Sector People · University Professional Workforce Insights 2026
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