The way we live has changed drastically over the past 20 years. Phones are smaller and more powerful, cars are smarter and overseas travel is no longer a luxury only afforded to the wealthy. And while these changes have arguably made life easier, they’ve also created uncertainty on the jobs front.
Modern vocations are in the firing line, too. Advances in automation and robotics technology mean certain aspects of manual labor are being mechanized in areas such as construction, factories and even in your local supermarket.
“Thankfully, there’s also an increase in the number and diversity of new jobs. Here we look at five employment sectors likely to offer the highest number of positions over the next five years.”
1. Software and app development
The average Australian spends more than 10 hours a day on the internet, but we’re easily distracted if the site we’re looking at is difficult to navigate or just doesn’t do what we expect it to. And that’s why UX – or user experience – graphic designers and researchers play such important roles in a business’s revenue growth. These designers and researchers work to enhance user satisfaction with a product by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction with a product. And it’s a career option that continues to gain momentum. In its 2017 list of the top 100 careers with big growth, great pay and satisfying work, US network CNN reports a 19 percent growth in the number of UX researcher positions in the US over the next 10 years, and a 13 percent growth in UX designer positions. In Australia, jobs within the professional, scientific and technical sector – which also includes accountants, solicitors and management/organizational analysts– are expected to rise by 14.8 percent by 2020.
2. Data analysis and security
With the exponential growth in data, jobs that are dedicated to its analysis and its protection are likely to boom. Insightful analysis of data to not only measure outcomes of campaigns and sales but predict trends for industries is key to successfully doing business in the future. It’s predicted data scientists will be in high demand within five years and a slew of new analytical roles will continue to be developed. Global specialist professional service company Accenture says the demand for expertise in cybersecurity and digital identity is growing, revealing to HuffPost Australia that 84 percent of Australian executives reported a doubling of privacy or security breaches compared with two years ago.
3. Education and training
Jobs within the highly skilled education and training sector are expected to rise 13 percent over the next few years. Roles within the sector include primary and secondary school teachers, teacher’s aides, university lecturers and tutors and private lecturers and tutors. The sector currently employs 938,000 workers, with 64 percent holding a bachelor degree or higher qualification. The report states the largest numbers of new jobs will be in preschool and school education (up by 58,100) as well as tertiary education (30,800) and adult, community and other education (30,700).
4. Healthcare and social assistance
According to the Federal Government’s Australian Jobs 2016 report, the healthcare and social assistance sectors will provide the most new jobs leading up to 2020, up 16.4 percent on 2015’s figure. The top five occupations within this sector are registered nurses, aged and disabled carers, child carers, nursing support and personal care workers and receptionists. The report also shows that strong growth in the sector has been accompanied by a rise in related university enrolments, suggesting that there may be strong competition for the expected increase of around 250,200 jobs by 2020. This is also the most popular sector for women, who hold a large share of jobs – nearly four in every five – the largest proportion of any industry in Australia.
5. Digital Marketing
In an increasingly crowded market in the future with so much ‘noise’ when it comes to information, savvy and creative digital marketers who know how to cut through with their messaging and branding will be worth their weight in gold to businesses.
According to a story on news.com.au “The jobs of the future that robots won’t take, a 2015 study by Duke University has already predicted growth in spending by 14.7 % in the year ahead, and an IAB/PwC online advertising expenditure report showed mobile advertising in Australia has boomed, passing the half-billion-dollar mark. And the projection is up from here. Marketers who can use their traditional marketing knowledge to master the digital sphere will be highly regarded.