Choose a career? These jobs will not go out of style

Sensational claims indicate that 40% of jobs in Australia will no longer exist in the future when young Australians are considering entering the labor market. The reality is that some jobs will no longer exist, new ones will be created and most jobs will change in some way. The skills we need for work are changing, but young Australians can plan for these changes.

The fears that automation and artificial intelligence are destroying future work are well founded - new technologies are changing our way of working. As the current workforce grows with an aging population, future generations will have many employment opportunities if they acquire the right skills.

Jobs of the future

The prospect of a single job for life is becoming increasingly unlikely. Today's 15-year-olds probably have 17 employer changes in five different careers. And for three out of five young Australians with a post-graduate degree (such as a degree or a vocational degree), less than half can work more than 35 hours per week.

When young Australians consider which career path they should take, they should be aware that the at-risk jobs have a high level of routine and repeatable and predictable processes that require precision. This includes administrative and office work, for example as a receptionist or data entry employee. Automation or AI will replace these jobs if they have not already done so.
Non-routine jobs that require human problem solving, creativity, adaptability, flexibility, physical dexterity, and communication skills will be the jobs of the future. This also applies to jobs that require physical closeness and interpersonal skills. Examples include engineering, planning, construction, education, health care and nursing work.

The economy is in a restructuring phase in response to the fourth industrial revolution. This is the name for a combination of technological megatrends that occur simultaneously (eg the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, automation and robotics, digital disruption, etc.). At the same time, there are significant economic, demographic and social changes.

In view of this change, the prospect of a polarization of the workforce for young people is of great importance. "Polarization" is the erosion of the labor market: a decline in the proportion of medium-skilled jobs considered "entry level" for young Australians. For young people, this means fewer opportunities to enter the world of work and limited career opportunities for low-skilled jobs.

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Which industries show growth?

The Australian economy has transformed itself from an economy that produces goods to an economy that serves people. Almost 80% of the workforce is employed in the service industry.
The Ministry of Labor and Small Enterprises plans to increase employment in 17 out of 19 broad industry sectors in Australia during the five years to May 2023. And it will decrease in two directions: agriculture, forestry and fishing; and wholesale.

Almost two-thirds of employment growth is expected in four sectors: health care and social assistance; Construction; Education and training; as well as professional, scientific and technical services. There are jobs for people with the skills to fill these jobs.

It is projected that new jobs will be created in a number of occupations. Care for the elderly and disabled, nursing, child care, software and application programming and maintenance are the five most important growth areas.
However, employment in five professions is also projected to decline: personal assistants and secretaries, office managers and program administrators, machine and stationary plant operators, farmers and managers, and white-collar workers and office workers are likely to be replaced by automation or AI.

Skills young people can learn now
Achieving a university degree no longer automatically means a graduate will get immediate and meaningful employment. The youth unemployment rate for graduates is increasing at a greater rate than for those without a tertiary qualification. According to the Foundation for Young Australians, it now takes on average 4.7 years for a person to transition from full time education to full time employment.
Research from the Foundation for Young Australians found there are four key factors which can accelerate the transition from education to full time work:
• an education that builds transferable skills such as problem-solving, communication and team work
• being able to undertake relevant paid work experience
• finding employment in a sector which is growing
• an optimistic mindset.

Employers of technical and trade workers still place the most emphasis on job-specific skills, but across all jobs employability skills are the most important. Employers look for communication skills above all other skills, followed by organisational skills, writing, planning and detail orientation, team work and problem-solving. Young people will need to make sure they also have transferable skills such as digital literacy, critical thinking and creativity.

The NSW government challenged a group of researchers to identify what today’s kindergarteners will need to survive and thrive in the 21st century. The report says developing deep knowledge and specialist expertise over time is critical.
Employability skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking are considered generic, and are likely to also be job-specific and not necessarily transferable. For example, problem-solving skills will be very different for a mining engineer to those required by a kindergarten teacher. These “generic skills” need to be learned in context.