New skills are changing Australian jobs

To mark National Skills Week 2020, the National Skills Commission (NSC) has released a list of emerging occupations that could offer a new pathway for those wanting to reskill or find new employment.

The list of 25 emerging occupations includes jobs which have been developing for some years, like data analysts and research assistants, and also new roles that require new skills, like DevOps engineers. The list also includes respiratory therapists and logistics analysts, roles which have been increasingly valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interim National Skills Commissioner, Adam Boyton, said this data and analysis showed why it’s important to think outside the box when it comes to planning Australia’s workforce post COVID-19.

“Over the past decade Australia’s labour market has undergone large-scale structural shifts as we see traditional roles morph into those that simply have not existed previously,” Adam said. “This report helps us better understand those emerging occupations and their skills needs, which will in turn, help build the skilled, resilient and adaptable workforce needed both now, and into the future.”

Powering the list of emerging occupations is JEDI, or the Jobs and Educations Infrastructure project. JEDI uses big data and machine-learning capabilities to better align tertiary courses with labour market needs. It combines traditional and near real-time data combined to identify transferrable skills and identify how skills needs are changing in the labour market.

A data-driven approach has enabled the National Skills Commission (NSC) to identify emerging skills, comparing these to how skills have changed existing jobs and forecast future areas of demand. The occupations identified are significantly different from those currently recognised in the standard classification system.

The NSC will continue to provide useful insights for job seekers, employers, educational institutions, researchers and policy makers throughout the economic recovery from COVID-19 and beyond.

The full list of emerging occupations is available on the National Skills Commission website.

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