PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with TAFE Queensland to get y’all job ready. Why wait to make great? Fast track your career by enrolling with TAFE Queensland HERE.
You’ve probably heard the news that we’re all royally screwed on the ol’ job front within living memory. The uproar began back in 2015 when the Committee For Economic Development Of Australia (more commonly known as CEDA to its acquaintances and family) released a report called ‘Australia’s future workforce?‘.
Yes, given that it generated several questions post-release along the lines of “what the fk are we going to do?” and “is the world ending?”, it seemed only fitting that its title ended with a big ol’ question mark. From where we’re sitting, everything’s well and truly up in the air RN.
Wondering what doomsday-esque bomb this report dropped? Oh, just the shocking little insight that there’s a “high probability that 40 per cent of Australia’s workforce, more than five million people, could be replaced by automation within the next 10 to 20 years”.
Yep. That information is… not great.
THANKFULLY, some sensible humans are looking ahead and giving a hell of a lot of thought into how we can ride out this impending shitstorm (take note, Turnbull).
TAFE Queensland, in conjunction with the CSIRO, created a report called ‘THE VET ERA: Equipping Australia’s workforce for the future digital economy‘ that provides some helpful hints on ensuring your damn-fine ass is employed down the line. While we highly encourage y’all to read the superbly detailed and enlightening report in full, we also know that you’re time poor AF. So, here’s the CliffNotes version to get around in the interim.
Due to digital disruption (i.e. robots replacing humans via automation), we’re going to need a ‘skills passport‘ – a collection of several in-demand skills that the future labour force will be gunning for. In other words, you’re going to have to be a jack of all trades.
To begin with, the general skills that you’ll need to be across for the sake of future proofing are entrepreneurship / innovation, as well as digital literacy.
“Entrepreneurship and innovation are likely to become increasingly important across all sectors of the economy and need to be given greater focus in the education system,” says the report. “All workers will need to be able to work with technology in the future, making digital literacy a new core skill set.”
The real nitty gritty, less-ambiguous skills that the report stresses have been classified into three sets: science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM); skills communication skills; and technical skills. If you’re keen on making yourself as employable as humanly possible, then you’ll start building your knowledge in several of the below skills recognised in the research.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
- Active Listening – Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination – Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
- Instructing – Teaching others how to do something.
- Negotiation – Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Service Orientation – Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking – Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Writing – Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
STEM SKILLS
- Computer Use – Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
- Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Engineering – Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mathematics – Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Programming – Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science – Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis – Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Technology Design – Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
- Equipment Maintenance – Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation – Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Management of Financial Resources – Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Management of Personnel Resources – Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operation and Control – Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Analysis – Analysing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Troubleshooting – Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
BTW: you don’t need to nail all of them, but a robust dabbling in a few will honestly be in your best interest – you wouldn’t want to end up without a jay-oh-be, would ya?
If you’re keen on future proofing yourself / start living your best life, then why wait to make great? Fast track your career by enrolling with TAFE Queensland HERE.
Photo: Mean Girls.
