Tomorrow’s Careers / ABC Wide Bay, ABC Far North, Southern Cross Austeroe
In a world where algorithm, mechanization and technology are slowly taking over all the routine human jobs of yesteryear, will there be jobs for humans in the future and if so what might they be was the starting point for this weeks round of on air interviews.
We took a look at the jobs that will soon be the domain of technology including tax clerks, library technicians, loan officers, postal clerks, retail sales assistant, technical writers, accountants to name but a few.
This list is not a mandated one, there may still be people involved in doing the tasks, but just as stenographers, typist and elevator operators of the past it will not require someone full-time to do them, but rather it may be just one task, amongst many others, someone does in the completion of their daily work.
Some of tomorrow’s new jobs will include big data scientists (all the rage at the moment), robotics engineers (we can’t get enough of them), augmented reality travel agents (providing digital rather than physical holidays), transhumanist designers (an HR function that decides whether a task is best done by human, tech or both and then manages the process), genome specialist and retirement counsellors.
It’s a fascinating and important discussion, what do we tell our kids, how do we prepare them for the world of 6 careers and 14 jobs and working into their 90’s in industries and professions that today we know nothing about. How do we transition our businesses and thinking to take best advantage of what’s ahead and how do we retrain those in jobs and industries that are likely to disappear?
There will be work for humans in the future, it will be in the wisdom, service and human contact fields, but what can we do today to get ready for tomorrow?
Have a listen to these segments for different insights and approaches to this vexing question.
ABC Wide Bay – David Dowsett – 30 November 2015 – (9 minutes 22 seconds)
ABC Far North – Phil Staley – 30 November 2015 – (18 minutes 22 seconds)
AusStereo WA – Anthony Tillie – 30 November 2015 – (4 minutes 01 seconds)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which career paths show the strongest growth signals for the next decade?
The career paths with the strongest growth signals for the next decade include: aged care and disability support, where Australia’s ageing demographics and the NDIS create structural demand that automation cannot easily meet — the relational, physical, and adaptive nature of care work makes it genuinely resistant to substitution; technology roles, particularly those at the intersection of AI capability and domain expertise (AI in healthcare, AI in legal, AI in agricultural management) rather than pure software development; renewable energy and sustainability — the transition to clean energy requires installation, maintenance, grid management, and system design skills that are in structural shortage; mental health and wellbeing services, where the growing recognition of mental health as a mainstream health and workplace issue is driving demand that current workforce capacity cannot meet; and trades in construction and infrastructure, where the combination of housing demand, infrastructure investment, and skills shortage creates strong employment conditions.
Q: What career advice do young Australians most need to hear about navigating a transformed job market?
Young Australians navigating a transformed job market need to hear: the credential (the degree, the certificate, the qualification) is a threshold, not a destination — what you can demonstrate you can actually do matters more than the piece of paper; the first job is less important than most people think, and the early career is best used for breadth and learning rather than optimisation for a single track; the relationships you build in the first decade of your career are disproportionately valuable — people who know your work quality are the most reliable source of opportunity; the technical skills that are most valuable change faster than educational institutions update their curricula, which means ongoing self-directed learning is not optional; and the geographic flexibility that earlier generations resisted (moving for opportunity, working in multiple locations) is increasingly a competitive advantage in a market where talent shortages are concentrated in specific places and sectors.
Q: What does the Tomorrow’s Careers framing reveal about how Australian society should think about work and education policy?
The Tomorrow’s Careers framing surfaces a policy gap: Australia’s education and training system is primarily designed around the careers of the past — the curriculum, the qualification framework, and the funding model were built for a labour market that is structurally changing; the vocational education and training (VET) sector, which is the most relevant system for the high-growth practical occupations of the next decade, has been chronically underfunded and carries cultural stigma relative to university education despite producing graduates in higher short-term demand; and the careers guidance system — the information and support available to young Australians making education and training choices — is inadequate to the complexity of the decision environment they face. Investing in better careers information and guidance, in VET quality and reputation, and in the flexibility of pathways between different types of education would have higher returns than most marginal increases in university funding.
Q: How can I book Morris Misel for a careers and education, workforce planning, or young people and futures keynote?
Contact the team at morrismisel.com/event-organisers.
In a world where algorithm, mechanization and technology are slowly taking over all the routine human jobs of yesteryear, will there be jobs for humans in the future and if so what might they be was the starting point for this weeks round of on air interviews. We took a look at t.
The shift around Tomorrow’s Careers / ABC Wide Bay, ABC Far North, is not purely structural. It changes what capabilities organisations value, how people find meaning in their roles, and what conditions make good work possible. Leaders who understand this early retain the talent they need and build cultures that attract it.
The most important question is not whether Tomorrow’s Careers / ABC Wide Bay, ABC Far North, will matter, but how quickly it will matter in your specific context. Leaders benefit most from mapping the ripple effects early — not just the direct impact but the second and third-order consequences that arrive later and hit harder. That is the practical work of foresight.
