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The traditional concept of a ‘career', was progression up an ordered hierarchy within an organisation or profession. The notion was that people ‘chose’ a career, which then unfolded in an orderly way. In many ways, this was an elitist concept: some had a career; many only had a job; some did not even have that.

Increasingly, security lies not in employment but in employability. Individuals who want to maintain their employability must be willing to regularly learn new skills. Careers are now increasingly seen not as being ‘chosen’ but as being constructed, through the series of choices about learning and work that people make throughout their lives.

Over the course of your working life, you are likely to have several careers across a range of occupations.  In fact, it is predicted that today’s school leaver will have 17 jobs across five careers in their lifetime. The length of job tenure for working Australians, on average, is currently around three years.  Therefore, employers have an increasing focus on transferable skills which enable workers to adapt to changing workforce demands.  Job seekers who can show they have these skills, in addition to role-specific expertise, will have an advantage in recruitment processes. 

The top ten employability skills identified for careers out to 2020 by the World Economic Forum are:

• Complex Problem Solving
• Critical Thinking
• Creativity
• People Management
• Coordinating with Others
• Emotional Intelligence
• Judgement and Decision Making
• Service Orientation
• Negotiation
• Cognitive Flexibility

In addition to the above skills aptitudes such as adaptability, resilience and entrepreneurial skills will also be important.  These aptitudes will enable you to identify and seize career and/or business opportunities as the world of work changes.

To demonstrate, these jobs did not exist ten years ago but are now quite common:

• Social Media Manager
• Podcast Producer
• Lyft or Uber driver
• Vlogger/Influencer
• Employment Brand Manager
• Virtual Assistant
• Cloud Architect
• Sustainability Manager
• App Developer
• Driverless car Engineer

Futurists also predict that 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet!  This means enormous opportunity for future career options.

Predicted jobs of the future include:

• Cyber Security Guards – with more of our personal data being stored online, companies have a growing need to protect that data.
• Drone Traffic Managers – the increase in drone technology means more services can be provided this way, resulting in the need to manage drone airspace
• Technology Managers – for those less tech-savvy, you will be able to call on an expert who is able to set up all your business, home and personal technology needs.
• Garbage Designers – how we manage our garbage, including the creation of sustainable products from our waste will become a huge career opportunity and global focus.
• Biomedical Engineers – this occupation will be purely focused on creating aids for those with illness and disabilities.
• Robotics Engineers – robotics will become more and more prevalent in all facets of life as we increasingly seek to automate tasks and services.

There are 19 broad industries in Australia, five of which provide more than one million jobs and, together account for around half of total employment.  The five largest employing industries are:

• Healthcare and Social Assistance (1,663,900)
• Retail Trade (1,286,900)
• Construction (1,167,200)
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (1,033,000)
• Education and Training (1,024,300)

The largest number of new jobs created in the last five years have been in the Health Care and Social Assistance, Construction and Education and Training industries.  Employment in these sectors is predicted to significantly increase in the next five years.

Click here to read more about the future Jobs Outlook for Australia.