Australian Industries That are Primed to See Huge Job Growth in the Next Five Years

The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business have released their annual publication about Australian labour market trends. According to their 2019 edition of Australian Jobs, the Australian labour market has shifted away from medium-skill jobs in favour of high-skill jobs for the past 20 years. 

The report states that gaining new skills and being able to apply existing skills to new circumstances is crucial to success in the ever-changing labour market landscape. According to a recent survey by the World Economic Forum, they discovered that employers believe more than half of current employees will require a huge degree of upskilling or reskilling to remain competitive.

Labour market analyst Ivan Neville said that jobs with PSET requirements (Post School Education and Training) are primed to experience significant growth over the years.

He said “Interestingly, the majority of employment growth over the past five years has been in occupations that generally require post-school qualifications.

“This is a long-term trend that is expected to continue, with the vast majority of jobs growth over the next five years projected to be in higher-skilled occupations,”

As the job market continues to evolve, let’s take a look at which Australian job industries create maximum job opportunities and which ones will experience employment downfall so that job seekers can make an informed decision about their career paths.

Job industries that will see significant job creation

The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business believes that these four industriels will see a huge increase in job creation for the foreseeable future:

• Health Care and Social Assistance (up by 250,300, or 14.9%)
• Construction (up by (118,800, or 10.0%)
• Education & Training (up by 113,000, or 11.2%)
• Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (up by 106,600, or 10.2%)

Projections for the Health Care and Social Assistance industry are strong and is the leading candidate for a breakout employment growth over the next five years. The top employing jobs in this industry are personal care workers, child carers, registered nurses, aged and disabled carers, and nursing support.

The Construction industry placed second on projected employment growth. Look for construction managers, electricians, carpenters, and plumbers to have above-average job growth in the future.

The growing demands for community and adult education places the Education & Training industry in prime position for employment growth. This industry is projected to increase strongly for the foreseeable future which is heavily influenced by international education and the growth of the school-age population. University tutors, lecturers, and primary and secondary school teachers will be in demand as we approach the year 2020.

The Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industry is also projected to experience strong employment growth. Software and application programmers, web designers, accountants, and software designers will be in demand over the next five years.

Naishadh Gadani, a Melbourne-based career coach, said that the latest trends in the Australian labour market are in sync with the data and numbers, especially for the Health Care and Social Assistance Industry.

He told SBS Hindi “It is mostly driven by population growth and the growing number of seniors in our country. Health Care and Social Assistance is creating a lot of jobs right now and will continue to grow in the next five years.”

Mr. Gadani also added “With a booming population, we need more hospitals and medical staff and with an increased focus on aged-care and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, there is a big demand for aged-care workers and disability carers.”

The demand for university lecturers and school teachers will see continuous growth within the next five years, especially with the population booming in big cities. This means that more schools are needed to support their education, thus increasing the employment rates for employees in the Education & Training industry as well.

Job industries that will experience a big decline in employment

According to the 2019 edition of Australian Jobs, these Australian job industries are the ones that will experience a big decline in employment.

• Machinery and Equipment Wholesaling
• Printing
• Agriculture
• Polymer Product and Rubber Product Manufacturing
• Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing 

The Wholesale Trade industry has been down down by 9,700, or 2.7% and is projected to decline continuously as we head into the future. The same thing goes for the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry which is down by 1,400, or 0.4%. The majority of manufacturing subsectors are projected to fall over the next five years as well.

Employability skills as the whole package

According to the Australian Jobs, emerging skills that are likely to be in demand within the next 5 years are:

• Initiative, originality, and creativity
• Innovation and analytical thinking
• Active learning
• Programming and technology design
• Complex problem solving
• Critical analysis and thinking
• Social influence and leadership skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Reasoning
• Stress tolerance, flexibility, and resilience

Labour analyst Ivan Neville believes that it’s not just the technical skills that employees need to focus on. Employers are starting to look for people who have the whole package in order to land a role in their company.  He said “In addition to education and experience, employers increasingly value staff who have employability skills, which includes personal and people skills, a good work ethic and the ability to work in a team.”

These skills are highly transferable and can be used across multiple industries as employers seek these emerging skills from their prospective employees. Should you be considering emigrating to Perth or anywhere in Australia then it is advisable to get in touch with a leading immigration agent in Perth to discuss your options further.