Over the next five years the Australian job market is going to dramatically change.
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The job market in the Illawarra will also not be immune from the impacts of an ageing population, increased migration and the globalisation of markets.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) estimates that total employment will increase from 11.8 million in 2016 to 13.7 million in 2024.
Further, government research predicts most of the future growth (92 per cent) will be in the services sector: health care, professional services, education and training, and accommodation and food services are projected to increase by 292,000 jobs in the four years to May 2022.
“This forecast is good news for the Illawarra as two of our biggest employing sectors are Healthcare and Social Assistance (13.3 per cent) and Education and Training (10.4 per cent),” Leanne Grogan, CEO, Workplace Learning said.
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“However, some sectors will not grow as much, for example, weak wage growth will stunt spending which means that job opportunities in the Illawarra’s second biggest sector, Retail, aren’t likely to come from growth.
“Interestingly, with 48 per cent of the population in NSW over 45 years of age it is little wonder that the biggest source of jobs in most industries will be from replacing employees leaving the workforce.”
Other influencers on the job market include the National Disability and Insurance Scheme which will continue to require some 119,000 healthcare workers by 2024 according to NCVER, the NBN will continue to require IT jobs and if the proposed spend by governments on infrastructure rolls out there will be shortages of workers across the construction sector.
Another interesting trend from the NCVER report is that employment growth will be toward occupations requiring higher levels of education and training, particularly professionals, with the highest demand being for accountants, auditors and company secretaries.
“We are finding this to different degrees across all jobs, with the majority of employers requiring completion of Year 12 as a minimum standard,” Leanne said.
To understand more about the demand for jobs and what career opportunities are available, make sure you attend the 2018 Illawarra Schools Careers Expo with your school or get along to the Expo’s public session on Tuesday, May 8 between 3pm-5pm at the Illawarra Hockey Stadium, Waples Road, Unanderra.
The Expo is an ideal way to get current and relevant information from over 100 representatives and gives you the chance to speak to industry experts and further education providers about opportunities in careers of interest to you.
Related: Explore career options