Future Outlook
Finding your way in a changing world of work
Australian jobs are changing as new technologies are introduced, businesses find new ways of working, and as we respond to challenges like COVID-19. This will lead to new jobs being created, and new skills may be needed for existing jobs.
How can you find your way in a changing world of work? When you’re thinking about work and study options, it can be helpful to understand
• the jobs available now and in the future
• the skills needed for jobs that interest you
• your interests and how you like to work.
Jobs now and in the future
There is likely to be demand in industries where employment has grown strongly in recent years, including:
• Health Care and Social Assistance
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Education and Training
• Construction.
Workers will be needed in the Healthcare and Social Assistance industry to support the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), investments in hospitals, and the growing demand for aged care, childcare, and home-care based services. Some of the jobs likely to need workers are:
• Aged and Disabled Carers
• Registered Nurses
• Child Carers
• Welfare Support Workers.
Qualified and highly educated workers will be needed in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry. Check out career pathways for jobs like these:
• Software and Applications Programmers
• Management and Organisation Analysts
• Accountants.
Workers will be needed in the Education and Training industry. The number of school-aged children is growing, and there’s demand for adult and community education. This means teachers and support workers like these will be needed:
• Primary School Teachers
• Secondary School Teachers
• Education Aides.
Finding jobs that use your skills
Skills are the language of the workplace. Many people don’t realise that the skills they’ve built in one job can be useful in many other jobs and industries. Since most people will move between a number of different jobs in their lifetime, it’s important to understand how your skills can transfer from one job to another.
People often have trouble naming the skills that they have built from their past jobs. Skills Match can show you skills you may have built in past jobs, and can also show you other jobs that use similar skills – some of these might surprise you!
Employers often value a person’s skills just as much as, or sometimes even more than, a formal qualification. You can use Job Outlook to discover the skills that are usually needed for a job. There are more than 1000 career profiles on Job Outlook, each one has a Skills and Knowledge page – view the Activities list on this page to see the skills usually needed for a job. You might have developed some of these skills in past jobs, by supporting your local school or community group, or from other life experiences.
Finding work you enjoy
You’re most likely to do well in a job that you enjoy.
A good way to identify jobs that you enjoy is to think about your work style. How do you like to work? Do you enjoy tasks that are
• Practical
• Analytical
• Creative
• Helping
• Enterprising
• Administrative
Chances are you like to work in a range of different ways.