COVID-19 has brought about uncertainty around future job growth and job security and we don't yet know the short or long-term impacts the pandemic will bring. There are some factors that
research shows assist young people to transition faster from full-time study to full-time employment.
These factors are likely to remain relevant for our young people post-COVID. They are:
- Build “enterprise skills” such as communication, problem solving and teamwork.
- Paid employment in future-focussed job areas. Young people who were studying in health, professional and technical services, and information technology areas and gained paid employment in these fields, had an advantage.
- Paid employment that relates to future career goals. If you find paid employment in the career field of your interest it is likely to speed your transition to full time employment.
- Be positive. Young people who were optimistic about their ability to find full-time work in their career area of interest began working 2 months faster than a young person who was not optimistic about their career prospects.
It is important that we support young people to set realistic timeframes for achieving career goals, encourage them to maximise their employability, and provide them with current research to guide them in career related decisions.
The graph below shows the relative growth of various industries projected to May 2022.
The top four growth industries are:
- Health Care and Social Assistance Industry
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Industry
- Construction Industry
- Emplyment in the Education and Training Industry