Given how much the world has changed in a matter of weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to predict what the next month, next year or next decade will bring in terms of changes to work and life on this planet.
What is certain, though, is that in a rapidly changing world fuelled by technology, automation and globalisation, change will be one of the only certainties!
If you’re a student today, it’s likely that when you do step out into your first job, you’ll enter a workforce that will keep changing around you, and it’s predicted you will have in up to 17 jobs across 5 different industries in your working lifetime!
But how do you start to plan for your future career?
And what kind of jobs will exist in the future?
A report by Ford Australia, Deakin University and Griffith University entitled 100 Jobs of the Future looks at predictions for future jobs, skills required and imagines what the future of work could really look like.
The report says that an ageing population, medical technologies and disrupted workplaces will change people’s life spans and career patterns, while the effects of climate change, population pressures and more technologised lifestyles will throw up major challenges for sustainability in the future.
This will all lead to huge workforce changes, but also open up loads of possibilities for those with the skills and interests to match work demands. New technologies and new materials will change agricultural practice, transport, engineering, industry and business practices. And it is likely that most jobs will involve humans working directly with machines, which means that future work will require people to have technical, scientific and digital skills and competencies so they can work at the interface between machines and people.
Many jobs of the future will also require high levels of ‘human skills’, like creativity and imagination, critical thinking, teamwork and collaboration, and the ability to work across domains. Most importantly and an ability to be learn and adapt.
Here’s just a taste of what some of those jobs are - Agroecological Farmers, Bio-Jackers, Algorithm Interpreters, Cricket Farmers and Personal Brand Managers! It’s well worth a look to see how AMAZING your future job could be, and to help inform you about what’s out there, what’s coming - and what you can do to start readying yourself for the exciting jobs of tomorrow now!
To access the full report see here.