State Training Board chairman Keith Spence said attaining higher level skills is essential if people are going to advance in their careers and find rewarding jobs.

“Upskilling staff also has a dual benefit for business by enhancing productivity and creating a work environment where people feel valued and want to stay,” Spence said.

Launching the State Training Board's report, Beyond the Resources Boom, Education Minister Mark McGowan said an action plan would be drawn up to ensure WA was well equipped to deal with workforce needs into the future.

"The study highlights the challenges WA are facing with skill shortages set to remain a feature of the labour market due to the continued strength of the economy and our ageing workforce," he said.

"It is also shows the contribution that our training system can make to the development of the state's workforce to offset skill shortages in the future.

"During these good economic times many people are putting off investing in their own training and skills, and it is essential that we turn this situation around so that Western Australians are given every encouragement to develop their skills for the future workplace."

McGowan said the State Government had already made significant inroads into addressing skill shortages by injecting unprecedented funding into the training system and implementing reforms to improve its effectiveness.

"Our approach is clearly working – since 2001 we have increased the number of apprenticeships and traineeships by 85 percent, we are leading the nation," he said.

"However, training our future workforce is a challenge for Government and the private sector to tackle together and we need to lay out the steps to do that."