What Should You Study? Insights from 'The Shape of Australia’s Post COVID-19 Workforce' Report

When you’re choosing what to study and what job you envision yourself working in, a major deciding factor is, obviously, personal interest - but it’s not the only important thing to take into consideration. Part of making a wise career choice also involves researching the predicted future trends for your occupation or industry of interest, to ensure that by the time you graduate from your studies, the skills and qualifications you’ve worked so hard to attain and excel in will continue to be in demand.

So, what’s this report mainly about?

The Shape of Australia’s Post COVID-19 Workforce is a report that was issued in December of 2020 by the National Skills Commission, aimed at analysing the impact of the pandemic on Australia’s existing and future labour market. The main highlight of the report centres on the concept of resiliency. Each of the 358 total occupations included in this study were ranked from 1 (indicating the greatest) to 358 (indicating the lowest) in the following three categories:

1. Pre-pandemic employment growth expectations | The projected employment growth over a five year period from May 2019 (pre-pandemic) to May 2024. A higher score (i.e closer to 1) indicates higher employment growth expectations. A lower score (i.e closer to 358) indicates lower employment growth expectations.

2. The COVID-19 employment shock | Negative impact caused by COVID-19, measured by rate of employment, hours worked, and job ads posted. A higher score (i.e closer to 1) indicates an increase in employment, hours worked and job ads posted. A lower score (i.e closer to 358) indicates declines in employment, hours worked and job ads posted.

3. The COVID-19 recovery so far | Measured by the increase or decrease in job listings for a specific occupation. A higher score (i.e closer to 1) indicates an increase in job listings. A lower score (i.e closer to 358) indicates a decrease in job listings.

Once each of the 358 occupations receives a ranking for each of the three above categories (cumulatively referred to as the ‘resilience framework’), these rankings are compiled to create an ‘overall score’ which ranks each occupation from most to least resilient.

How is this report relevant when it comes to deciding what I want to study?

Firstly, the National Skills Commission authored and issued this report - their work centres on providing insightful information into Australia’s labour market precisely to help students and employees make career and educational decisions.

Secondly, and most importantly, there are several insights contained in this report that especially benefit both the demographic of students and industries that we serve, in partnership with our three RTOs. You’ll discover that the characteristics of the most resilient occupations found in this report are the ones that also align with the industries and qualifications we offer. So, without further ado, let’s delve into some of the key highlights from The Shape of Australia’s Post COVID-19 Workforce.

Key Report Highlights

• Mature aged individuals are more likely to be represented in resilient occupations | 33.9% of employment in resilient occupations were represented by people of all ages, as opposed to only 25.4% of employment in resilient occupations being represented by our youth. This bodes well given that the vast majority of the students we serve are anywhere from their late thirties to early sixties.

• Resilient occupations are likely to be had with a Certificate II or Certificate III qualification | Skill levels 4 (equivalent to a Certificate II or Certificate III) and 1 (equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree or higher) accounted for above average shares of employment in resilient occupations.

• The Health and Social Assistance Industry contains the largest proportion of resilient occupations | 65.6% of employment in resilient occupations are credited to this industry. This again bodes extremely well given that the majority of courses we offer in partnership with our RTOs are largely in mental health, community services, disability, individual support, alcohol and other drugs, nursing, and allied health.

• The Education and Training Industry contains the third largest proportion of resilient occupations | 55.3% of employment in resilient occupations are credited to this industry. This also includes early childhood education and care. All three of our partner RTOs offer qualifications within this industry at both the Certificate III and Diploma level qualifications.

• Allied health professionals and community and personal service workers, in particular, are two broad occupational groups within the Health and Social Assistance Industry expressing resilience | The report refers specifically to speech professionals, audiologists, and other medical practitioners as resilient roles within allied health. Aged care and disabled workers are resilient roles within community and personal service.

Australia’s most resilient occupations

The figure below, taken directly from the report, illustrates the nation’s top 20 most resilient occupations:

The results of this report pertain to the COVID-19 period, and COVID-19 isn’t going to last forever. How are these insights applicable in the long run, post-pandemic?

What these takeaways from the report prove to demonstrate is that certain industries can grant greater job security in times of crises - and this is an important consideration to take into account, regardless of whether you’re trying to decide what to study or considering a career change. The information gleaned from a highly volatile labour market can serve to inform future educational policymaking, which, in turn, has implications for both students and education providers, such as RTOs.

We’d love to hear from you!

Trying to decide what pathway to pursue is no small decision - perhaps especially so for a mature-aged student. There’s so many different resources and information available online that it can all feel a little overwhelming at times. We’d love to make things simpler for you by providing you with personalised advice pertaining to your own individual circumstances, such as discussing your personal interests, what occupation may best suit your existing skill sets and personality, or your eligibility criteria for fee reductions. So please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re always up for a chat!