The Future of Work

Work will remain a key feature of Australian life in the future, as it is now. Almost two in three employed Australians work full time, and of these, more than half are putting in 40 or more hours per week. However, the average length of time Australians stay in their role has shortened to just under three years.

If this tenure continues through the working life of today’s school leavers, then they will have on average 18 different jobs over 6 distinct careers. Many of these future jobs don’t currently exist. While technology is replacing jobs, it is also creating many new ones. When today’s senior school students were at primary school, there were still people employed as toll collectors on our nation’s motorways! Now many of these students are learning skills in robotics, coding, social media marketing, app development and big data analytics.

New generation, new decade, new career options

As they consider their career options, there are jobs available in entirely new industries such as nanotechnology, block-chain, cyber security, autonomous transport and virtual reality.

The jobs of the future will come not only from technological change but also demographic change. The ageing population is creating new opportunities, not just in the aged care sector but also for retirement services agents. Australia’s record birth rates and more affluent parents are creating new childcare services and carer roles. From cultural diversity to changing family structures, population shifts create new demands and industries.

How to future proof your career

To future proof careers, job starters should also look at lifestyle changes. Two decades ago, outsourcing of home services took off in Australia, from paying people to mow lawns or clean houses to, more recently, mobile dog-washers, wheelie bin sanitisers and even oven cleaners.

However, the opportunities will grow as the lifestyle expectations of 21st century families change – from meal preparation services to the evolution of childcare services; from professional organisers to personal concierge services; and from professional party organisers to styling and image consultants.

“Corporations are now employing wellbeing managers, many city buildings have office concierges and being an urban farmer is now a thing. The speed of change highlights the need to observe the global, technological and social trends. Careers are no longer for life and so there’s a need to be innovative, adaptive and proactive in up-skilling in order to remain relevant.” – Mark McCrindle 

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Jobs growth and future proofing careers

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Tags: Analyse Australia | Future of Work | Work Wellbeing |

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