Insights

Tomorrow’s Digitally Enabled Workforce: More Megatrends

Here, we continue our exploration of megatrends, which are major changes predicted to take place over the next 5-20 years.

This is part three of our four-part series on the Australian workforce of tomorrow. In part one, we covered factors influencing change and, in part two, we took a look at three megatrends. Here, we continue our exploration of megatrends, which are major changes predicted to take place over the next 5-20 years.

Changing demographics

There are no two ways about it: Australia’s population is getting older and more diverse. By 2035, approximately 1 in 5 Australians will be over 65 and, by 2046, the labour force is likely to comprise just one-third of the population. Between 1978 and 2015, the female section of the workforce increased from 43% to 60%.

Furthermore, health issues are going to become more of a concern. Almost 50% of Australian have experienced mental health problems at one point or another and 66% of Australian employees are overweight or obese, a proportion likely to reach 70% by 2025.

It’s possible that migration will deliver help. In an average year, 80% of migrant arrivals are of working age, in contrast with 54% of Australians.

Higher education

As more and more low-skilled jobs are replaced by automation or go off-shore, more and more Australians will need higher education to remain employable. In fact, by 2019, the number of jobs available to highly-skilled workers is likely to be double what it was in 1991. 75% of the most rapidly growing occupations require knowledge in science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics (STEM), yet the number of Year 12 students in Australia who study Maths has dropped by 11% since 1992. Meanwhile, in India and China, tertiary education in STEM is on the rise. It’s expected that, by 2030, these two nations will provide 60% of the G20 Countries’ STEM qualified workforce.

Service industries

Two sectors that have grown in recent years are healthcare and education. Employees in these areas, who require high levels of emotional intelligence, are likely to remain in demand. Between 2014 and 2019, healthcare and social assistance jobs were predicted to grow by 18.7% and education and training by 15.6%. The creative economy is expanding, too, and is currently contributing about 7-8% of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Want more?

To keep reading about this topic, make sure you look out for part four.

About iFactory

This series is brought to you by iFactory, a Brisbane-based digital agency. We provide cutting-edge digital services, from web development and web design to ecommerce and digital marketing. Drop us a line at info@ifactory.com.au.

Read more insights