From artificial intelligence engineers to music therapists, these are some of the jobs of the future
Music therapists and artificial intelligence engineers are among the jobs expected to have the strongest demand in the next 10 years. (ABC News: Peter Mullins)
As technology evolves, it might not come as a surprise to learn there's expected to be strong demand for artificial intelligence engineers in the next 10 years.
There's also forecast to be rapid growth in the clean energy workforce, science industry and healthcare and disability sector.
And while 90 per cent of future jobs will need post-secondary qualifications, many of them don't require a university degree.
The Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) report has identified 37 emerging roles across Australia in four key categories: Net Zero, Health, Care and Medical, Data and Technologies, and Science and Engineering.
JSA advises the federal government on the country's skills and workforce needs.
Released annually to give a national view of the current and future shape of Australia's workforce, the JSA report provides a detailed look at Australia's workforce landscape, with a focus on future skills, opportunities and challenges.
The biggest area of growth is expected to be in the healthcare and social assistance industry, with federal government data revealing employment is projected to grow by sixteen per cent over the next five years.
The number of online job postings for a music therapist — where a person can earn between $800 and $2,000 a week — grew nearly fourfold between 2018 and 2022.
Meanwhile online job ads for NDIS Support Coordinators have almost doubled over the same five years.
Experts say a lot of new roles are also emerging in technology.
Cloud developer, solutions architect, automation engineer, machine learning engineer are the words of the 21st century in lots of ways and they are being reflected in job ads and we are seeing, JSA Commissioner Professor Barney Glover said.
There is expected to be rapid growth in the clean energy workforce in the near future, largely thanks to the Albanese Government's commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The new report shows nine emerging roles in this area, mostly related to new fuels and storage, transport and energy performance.
Electric vehicle technicians had the highest number of online job ads, with more than 1,700 job postings.
JSA expects the demand for specialist electric vehicle mechanics will increase, as will the demand for mechanics to work across both vehicle types.
Communication skills were one of the top 10 skills required for employees in all 37 emerging roles, particularly for those seeking jobs as a battery design engineer, a robotics engineer and NDIS support coordinator.
What they mean by communication is being able to communicate your ideas, to communicate with stakeholders, which includes the employers and having transferable skills around teamwork, said Dr Dr Jennifer Luke, a researcher in career and workforce development at the University of Southern Queensland.
All of these emerging roles do need to have good transferable skills and communications skills is big.
Report highlights gender gaps
The report aims is to better support job seekers, students and career advisors and understand where there might be gaps with pay and gender.
We already have fewer women as AI engineers than we would want, Professor Glover said.
That is an area where we would go back into the education system and schools to say 'This is an emerging and exciting opportunity and we need to encourage more young women to consider a pathway, in particular into AI engineering'.
But there are some parts of the world that have more balance, so we need to understand why some countries are better at attracting women into those particular occupations that are emerging, than others.
But some experts say that while more women are choosing to study engineering, information and communication technology and other associated areas, more is needed to get them into the workforce.
There is a need to support and encourage women to go after these roles, so they have the confidence to break through and get into these difference industries, Dr Luke said.
I would recommend networking with professional associations and keep your ear to the ground about where the opportunities are and building a support base with your peers.
Don't think of post-school study as 'only university'
The latest JSA report estimates more than 90 per cent of employment growth over the next ten years will be in jobs that need post-secondary qualifications — but that doesn't necessarily mean a university degree.
What's clear is that we need to stop thinking about post-school study in terms of only university, Professor Glover said.
Half of what people will need to know for the jobs of the future is going to be taught in vocational education and training.
He said more women should be encouraged to consider vocational education and training pathways because of how important it will be in future.
We need to encourage young people to look at VET pathways and opportunities to do vocational education and training.
We absolutely need more trades people.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-21/australia-careers-jobs-of-the-future-tech-health/104623430
