Whether you’re about to start uni or you’re heading back to the ol’ stomping ground to brush up on some skills or tackle a new career, there’s one thing you can count on next semester – being spoilt for choice.

And we’re not talking about the all the cuties on campus – we’re talking about the awesome degrees and subjects that will help you graduate with qualifications to suit the future workforce.

To make life easy, we’ve compiled the most important info and stats from the latest report by Australian Jobs, which details the top growth industries and areas of opportunity in Oz. Best of all, these bite-sized bits of career gold apply to everyone – no matter what your ATAR score.

#1 Health Care And Social Assistance Are Trending

According to Australian Jobs, a number of industries are on the rise, but the industry that has experienced the most growth happens to be the health care and social assistance industry. It’s leading the way for careers that are projected to add the largest number of new roles in the next five years, with 250,500 new jobs projected to become available in Australia by May of 2022.

Wondering what kind of roles we’re talking about? Well, it’s anything from registered nurses to child carers, as well as aged and disabled carers. Yep, all the amazing jobs that literally change lives are the ones we’re set to be doing the most. Whether you’re looking at undergrad or even postgrad opportunities, there are a number of awesome health programs available to study online through Open Universities Australia (OUA). These include degrees such as a Bachelor of International Public Health from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Food and Nutrition from La Trobe University or even a Master of Mental Health from the Australian Catholic University to name a few.

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#2 Tech Giveth And Tech Taketh Away

While advancing technology and automation is changing the nature of roles available in Australia and decreasing the demand for some occupations, it’s also creating new opportunities for future workers to develop, use or supervise the operation of these new technologies. Thankfully, there’s been an increase in people employed in jobs that are difficult to automate or require a real-life person to take on the role – AKA “non-routine” tasks.

These non-routine roles include everything from careers in teaching to plumbing, cooking, and software and application programming. These particular jobs, however, require a certain set of skills (seeing as technology can’t master them yet, this makes total sense). These skills include digital literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, adaptability and resilience.

Software and applications programmers can look forward to the 126,400 new jobs slated for the professional, scientific and technical services industry by May 2020, while the construction industry has 120,700 projected new roles for plumbers, electricians, carpenters and joiners during the same time. Yes, we humans still serve a purpose in this topsy turvy world. Looking to study in this area? OUA offers everything from a Master of Environmental Engineering and Pollution Control with Griffith University to graduate a Graduate Diploma in Energy and the Environment with Murdoch University, all online. The world is your – ahem – oyster.

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#3 The Labour Market Is On Your Side

Not only are labour market conditions strong, employment is up and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. This means younger generations are benefiting from positive conditions in industries such as retail trade, accommodation and food services, as well as construction. General sales assistants, for example, have recorded some of the largest numbers of new jobs over the last five years, as well as aged and disabled carers and registered nurses. 

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#4 Skills, Skills, Skills

There are now officially more jobs for higher skilled workers than ever before, with the majority of employment growth over the last five years appearing within occupations that generally require post-school qualifications. This trend is most likely going to continue, so ensuring you undertake some form of education after school is pretty darn important.

For higher skilled occupations, you’ll need post-school qualifications, but you’ll also need technical skills, as well as communication, organisational and teamwork skills as these will be a focus of future employers. Where lower skilled occupations are concerned, you will still need to show your future boss that you’re reliable, motivated, hard-working, well-presented and have experience relevant to the industry you’re trying to break into.

Thinking about hamming up your general skills? Ensure your degree or post-school training provides important soft skills like adaptability, resilience and problem-solving. By customising your degree through online platforms like OUA, you’ll get the academic knowledge you need as well as the highly sought-after soft skills employees want to see. This all-‘rounder approach lets you mix and match your subjects, but more importantly, provides you with the killer career skills that will help you hit the ground running.

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#5 Focus On Your Future

According to the folks over at Australian Jobs, almost one in four Aussie workers are now employed as “professionals” with 75 per cent of those having completed a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification. While this doesn’t mean you absolutely have to complete a degree, considering where the future of work in Australia is heading, you would be wise to look at continued education or training post-school.

Case in point? The accommodation and food services industry is projected to add 97,600 new jobs between now and May 2022 (including waiters, kitchenhands and bar attendants), however for the education and training industry (primary and secondary school teachers), this figure is sitting at 116,200. It’s even higher, at 120,700, for the construction industry (electricians, plumbers and carpenters).

Moral of the story? Investing in the present is a huge investment in your future, so why not make it count while still doing it your way? Open Universities Australia offers 1600 subjects and hundreds of degree programs from 15 leading universities, the ability to customise your degree and study online, and flexible study options. Now you can take what you know about the future of your chosen industry and create a degree catered to this, as well as your own needs.

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(Lead image: Green Chameleon)

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Get the degree you need to be future ready. For 25 years, Open Universities Australia has enabled students to study online with leading Australian unis, in a way that suits their lifestyle. Explore your options at open.edu.au or call a friendly student advisor on 13 OPEN.