Transferable skills have always been considered important when it comes to shifting jobs but they have never been more crucial than in 2017. The New Work Mindset is a report constructed using data from 2.7 million job advertisements spanning over 1000 occupations. It contends that young people are better off focusing on their strengths and interests and choosing the most relevant cluster rather than a specific dream job.
The seven clusters (Generators, Artisans, Carers, Coordinators, Designers, Informers and Technologists) are all characterised by distinct industries and jobs yet there is significant crossover in terms of skill requirements.
Career paths are not as linear as they once were, with the idea of working for a single organisation for three decades more or less extinct. The average Australian will change employers 17 times across five different careers, suggesting that the modern workforce is as flexible and diverse as it has ever been. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and the report by the Foundation of Young Australians (FYA) found that young people’s skillsets are very portable, with the abilities gained from one position often transferable to up to 13 other roles.
This is a practical approach because it is very difficult to determine what you want to do with the rest of your life when you are leaving high school or even university. In fact, only six per cent of people end up in the job they said they wanted when they were a child.
The advantages are varied; a young person can gain experience through early career jobs within a cluster, develop a portfolio of relevant skills and even choose a cluster based on projected future growth of related occupations.
This new work mindset is geared towards helping young job seekers find employment with the report visualising how an environmental research scientist could, with the acquisition of an extra skill, transfer into a separate role as a firefighter, museum technician or engineering professional.
Generators require a high level of interpersonal interaction and specialise in sales, retail and hospitality, Artisans complete manual tasks like construction and maintenance, and Carers work towards improving the health of others in the medical and personal care industries.
Coordinators are involved in repetitive administration tasks, Designers build and engineer products using maths and science, Informers provide information, education or business services and Technologists manipulate digital technology.
Not all of these clusters are expected to boom in the immediate future. The Carers grew 18 per cent from 2010-2015 and with a continually aging population, this figure is expected to remain strong for physiotherapists, nurses and general practitioners.
Results weren’t as promising when it came to Artisans, with labour-intensive workers like plumbers and carpenters at a 77 per cent risk of automation. Similar numbers were recorded for the Coordinators, with receptionists and support technicians in danger of being replaced by technology.
The nature of work may be changing for young job-seekers but with the right approach, there is still ample opportunity for growth and development.