FYA’s New Work Order

report series

THE NEW WORK MINDSET

7 new job clusters to help young people
navigate the new work order
The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is committed
to young people, their futures and the contribution they
can make to Australia. At FYA, we believe young people
are ambitious, creative and capable of rethinking the world
and solving tomorrow’s problems today. FYA is a national
for-purpose organisation that is all about backing the next
generation of young people who are going to rethink the
world and create a better future. At FYA we connect and
inspire young changemakers - the innovators, the makers,
the dreamers, the thinkers, the doers and the creators.
Find out more at fya.org.au

This report is part of FYA's 'New Work Order' series.

This report was prepared for the Foundation for Young

Australians by AlphaBeta.

AlphaBeta is a strategy and economic advisory business

serving clients across Australia and Asia from offices in
Singapore and Sydney. For further information contact
AlphaBeta at [email protected]

Copyright and disclaimer

Copyright in this report is vested in The Foundation for Young Australians pursuant to the Australian Copyright Act 1968.
Unless otherwise stated, no part may be reproduced by any process, unless permitted by the Australian Copyright Act
1968, or used for any commercial purposes without the written permission of The Foundation for Young Australians.
The materials presented in this report are for information purposes only. The information is provided solely on the basis
that readers are responsible for making their own assessments of the matters discussed. Readers are advised to make
their own enquiries and to obtain independent advice before acting on any information contained in or connected with
this report. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information is up-to-date and accurate, the Foundation
for Young Australians will not accept any liability for any loss or damages that may be incurred by any person acting in
reliance upon the information.
Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Young Australians. All rights reserved.
fya.org.au 2
FOREWORD

There is an urgent need to shift mindsets in our approach to jobs, careers and work.
New big data analysis provides us with insights into the patterns of skills young
people now require to navigate complex and uncertain working lives. We must act
now to ensure young Australians can thrive in the new world of work.

FYA embarked on the New Work Order report series What the report ultimately reveals is that current careers
in mid-2015. Our first report, The New Work Order, advice is already outdated in the New Work Order
showed the way we work will be increasingly affected by predicted. When we talk about the future of work, much
three global economic forces; automation, globalisation of the focus is on which jobs will disappear and which will
and collaboration. It highlighted that if we want young remain. These are important factors, however this report
people to capitalise on these opportunities and navigate shows that we need to shift our focus from jobs to skills
the challenges brought by these changes, they need a set to prepare young people for the future of work.
of transferrable enterprise skills.
By understanding the skills and capabilities that will be
How are young people faring in the transition most portable and in demand in the new economy, young
from school to work showed a gap between the people can work to equip themselves for the future
enterprising skillset young Australians need and their of work more effectively. Our mindset needs to shift
level of attainment. Around 35% of Australian 15-year- to reflect a more dynamic future of work where linear
olds showed low proficiency in problem solving, 27% careers will be far less common and young people will
demonstrated low proficiency in digital literacy and 29% need a portfolio of skills and capabilities, including career
demonstrated low proficiency in financial literacy. management skills to navigate the more complex world
of work.
Most recently, The New Basics, analysed 4.2 million job
advertisements between 2012 and 2015 to show that For example, a young person within ‘The Informers’
the changes we have been predicting are already here. cluster which comprises jobs requiring skill in providing
More employers are demanding enterprising skills among information, education or business services, will be able
young employees. Demand for digital skills went up 212% to more easily shift between roles in a job cluster with
over three years, while critical thinking increased 158%, the right portable technical skills. There may be a few
creativity increased by 65% and presentation skills by skill gaps which can be filled with additional training or
25%. experience, however the focus on building a portfolio of
skills to navigate a cluster over a single, dream job is key.
These reports have showed the urgent need for
investment in a national enterprise skills and careers These findings also highlight risks. We know that not all
education strategy that would: the job clusters will have strong future prospects which
may drive unemployment and inequality. Young people
• Begin early in primary school and build consistently, need accurate information to help them make decisions
year on year, throughout high school about which job clusters they are most suited to and
where they are likely to have most longevity.
• Be provided in ways that young people want to learn:
through experience, immersion and with peers We want a new mindset towards how we approach
working lives and our existing systems will need to shift.
• Provide accurate information about and exposure to
We hope to see our government, educators, tertiary
where future jobs will exist and the skills to craft and
institutions, young people and parents embrace this new
navigate multiple careers
work mindset so that all young Australians are able to not
• Engage students, schools, industry and parents in co- only survive but thrive in the new work order.
designing opportunities in and outside the classroom.

To tackle the challenge of providing accurate information

about where future jobs will exist and the skills that will
be needed we have again turned to big data. The New
Work Mindset has analysed more than 2.7 million
job advertisements to reveal 7 new job clusters in the
Australian economy where the required skills are closely Jan Owen
related and more portable than previously thought. CEO
Foundation for Young Australians

fya.org.au 3
OVERVIEW
MOVING BEYOND JOBS TO SKILLS FOR THE NEW WORK ORDER

There are 7 new job Jobs are more related

clusters in Australia than we realise...
When a person trains or
works in 1 job, they acquire
‘TheGenerators’ ‘The Artisans’ ‘The Carers’ ‘The Informers’
skills for 13 other jobs*

‘The Coordinators’ ‘The Designers’ ‘The Technologists’

A young person… 1
• could choose a job cluster based on
their interest and strengths rather
than focus on one dream job.
13
12
• could gain experience through early 3 5 7 9
career jobs in the job cluster. 11
2 8 10
4
6

Some job clusters

have stronger future
prospects than others

Job clusters require

similar skills that
are often portable
across jobs
‘The Carers’ ‘The Technologists’
A young person…
‘The Informers’
• could focus on developing
a portfolio of technical and
A young person...
enterprising skills common to
their chosen job cluster. • could consider job clusters with
strongest future prospects and jobs
that are most likely to grow.
*On average, based on high overlap of skills.

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CONTENTS

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6

1. The future of work is complex but our skills are more portable than we realise ..................................................... 11

2. There are 7 new job clusters in Australia ............................................................................................................................ 14

2.1 Finding a job cluster that best matches a young person’s interests and strengths .................................................... 16

2.2 Gaining early-career experience in a job cluster............................................................................................................... 16

3. Job clusters require similar skills that are often portable across occupations ......................................................... 18

3.1 Some technical skills are requested in multiple jobs within a cluster............................................................................ 18

3.2 Key enterprise skills appear across multiple jobs within a job cluster........................................................................... 19

4. Some job clusters have stronger future prospects ............................................................................................................ 20

5. The New Mindset: Helping young people to navigate work now and in the future ................................................... 22

Appendices ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Reference List .................................................................................................................................................................................. 27

fya.org.au 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Work is changing
People often think of careers as a climb up the ranks of
job seniority, starting in the trainee cubicle and aiming
for the executive offices. Today careers are often not so
linear. While virtually every child is asked, ‘What do you
want to be when you grow up?’, only 6% of adults end
up in the careers they wanted when they were younger.1
Instead of training for a particular occupation and
working in that area for life, some studies have estimated
that Australians will make 17 changes in employers
across 5 different careers.2 Compounding the uncertainty
is the reality that many jobs of the future don’t exist
today. The World Economic Forum has argued that “in
many industries and countries, the most in-demand
occupations or specialties did not exist 10 years ago.”3
In fact, in Australia, over the past 25 years, we have lost
1 million jobs in manufacturing, administration and
labouring but gained more than 1 million jobs in the
knowledge and service industries.4 FYA’s previous reports
on ‘The New Work Order’ have highlighted the dynamism
and complexity at play in the future of work.
Our skills are more portable than
we realise
Amidst this uncertainty, every young Australian has to
make choices that will affect their future options like: The dynamism and uncertainty of work represents a
what subjects to study at school; what courses to take at potentially exciting opportunity for young people. The
TAFE or university; what apprenticeships to go for; and media often focuses on automation and globalisation
what first job they should apply for? While none of these because of concerns that workers will not be able to
choices are irreversible, they are important because utilise their skills in jobs as they change or new jobs as
they collectively shape our career and employment they emerge. It is commonly viewed that moving from
options over time. In order for young people to make one occupation to another would entail high switching
decisions, they need to have information that simplifies and retraining costs.
the complex world of work and helps them navigate work
over a lifetime. This report uses a new methodology for However, jobs are more related than we might
analysing the patterns contained in millions of online job first think. Not all jobs require the acquisition of an
advertisements, in order to shed new light on navigating entirely new skill set, instead, the skill sets of many jobs
uncertainty. are ‘portable’ to other jobs. In fact, on average, when an
individual trains or works in 1 job, they acquire skills for
13 other jobs. This is because, for many jobs, employers
demand very similar skills. Most young people are skilled
for more jobs (see section 1 for detail) than they or
potential employers, actually realise.

1
Javier G. Polavieja and Lucinda Platt, “Nurse or Mechanic? The Role of Parental Socialization and Children’s Personality in the Formation of Sex-Typed Occupational
Aspirations”, Social Forces (2014) 93 (1): 31-61 first published online May 12, 2014
2
McCrindle Research (2014) “Job mobility in Australia” using HILDA and Department of Employment data. Available at: http://mccrindle.com.au/the-mccrindle-blog/job-
mobility-in-australia
3
World Economic Forum (January 2016) “The Future of Jobs: Employment, skills and workforce strategy for the Fourth Industry Revolution” Available at http://www3.
weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs.pdf
4
Foundation for Young Australians (2015) “The New Work Order: Ensuring young Australians have skills and experience for the jobs of the future, not the past”

fya.org.au 6
Of course job switches will often require additional ‘dream job’, it may be more useful to ask what is your
technical skills or subject matter expertise. Even in ‘dream job cluster’?
related fields with many common characteristics, moving
This report seeks to help shift our mindset around work
between jobs can be challenging. On the other hand,
by asking and answering a number of career-shaping
some job switches only demand a few new skills. In fact,
questions.
for someone who has already trained for or worked in
one job, 44 different jobs only request one additional skill. What are the new clusters of work?
The portability of skills has important implications for how Which job cluster could a young person choose? How do
we think about our careers and provide career education. they gain work experience?
Many jobs are related and require similar skills. Rather
than choosing an occupation with an unbroken path to What skills does a young person need to build a career
seniority, a young person could think about developing a moving through these clusters?
portfolio of skills that opens doors to a group or ‘cluster’
Which jobs have promising future prospects?
of jobs. Rather than asking a young person, what is your

There are 7 new job clusters in Australia

There are more than 1,000 different occupations in Australia. This might seem like a bewildering choice for a young
person starting their career, but actually many of these jobs are related in the sense that they involve similar skills, day-to-
day tasks and work environments (some of which are surprising).

By using a first-time methodology for analysing millions of job advertisements, these occupations can actually be grouped
into just 7 ‘clusters of work’:

The Artisans cluster comprises jobs that require

skill in manual tasks related to construction,
The Generators cluster production, maintenance or technical customer
comprises jobs that service.
require a high level of
interpersonal interaction in
retail, sales, hospitality and
The Designers cluster
entertainment.
comprises jobs that
‘The Artisans’
involve deploying skills
and knowledge of
‘The Designers’ science, mathematics
and design to construct
‘The Generators’
or engineer products or
The Coordinators buildings.
cluster comprises jobs
that involve repetitive
administrative and
behind-the-scenes ‘The Informers’
process or service
tasks. ‘The Coordinators’
‘The Technologists’

The Informers
cluster comprises
jobs that involve
The Carers cluster The Technologists
professionals
comprises jobs that seek cluster comprises jobs
providing information,
to improve the mental or that require skilled
education or business
physical health or well-being understanding and
services.
of others, including medical, ‘The Carers’ manipulation of digital
care and personal support technology.
services.

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In order to uncover the clusters of work in Australia, the specific technical skill or subject matter expertise but
4,600 unique skills requested by employers across 2.7 picking up many of the core technical skills within a job
million online job advertisements5 were analysed with an cluster will enable young people to move within a cluster
exciting new methodology. Using a clustering algorithm, of work and more easily shift into the unknown jobs of
over 1000 occupations were grouped based on whether the future.
employers demanded similar skills from candidates. For
Enterprise skills are transferable skills that enable young
example, The Carers cluster of work comprises jobs that
people to engage with a complex working world and
seek to improve the mental or physical health or well-
which have been found to be a powerful predictor of
being of others, including medical, care and personal
long-term job success. While there are some enterprise
support services. The 131 occupations6 currently in this
skills that are commonly sought across job clusters, such
job cluster include GPs, social workers, childcare workers,
as communication skills, digital literacy, writing, training
fitness instructors, surgeons, counsellors and beauty
others, and problem solving, employers in different
therapists. The algorithm groups these occupations
clusters of work demand some enterprise skills more
together into one cluster based on their common skills
often than others. For example, The Artisans job cluster
including both the top technical skills (like computer-aided
focuses primarily on the capacity to train others, problem
drafting, accountancy, or case management) and the top
solve and manage time, whereas the Informers job
enterprise skills (like problem solving, communications,
cluster requests skills related to writing, problem solving,
and project management).
research, creativity and team work.
Choosing a first job is a big decision. But it’s only the
The set of core technical and enterprise skills outlined
beginning of a career journey that could encompass many
for each job cluster in this report can be used by young
transitions between different roles across multiple fields.
people to identify the types of courses they might want to
Instead of a young person focusing purely on choosing a
enroll in or work experience they might want to acquire.
single job, they could consider a more long-term question,
Likewise, educators and policy makers could use the
such as which ‘cluster of work’ they want to build a career
common skills requested by job clusters to help design
within. When making this decision a young person can:
the offerings that are core to multiple curricula. Moreover,
• Reflect on the job clusters that best match their given the portability of skills across our different jobs and
interests and strengths, by using the jobs and skills the potential to add one or two additional skills, workers,
most commonly request in a job cluster as a guide. educators and policy makers can now think more
strategically about preparing young people to navigate
• Test their fit within a job cluster by gaining critical dynamic working lives.
early-career experience in jobs that employers offer
more frequently to young people.

Job clusters require similar skills

that are often portable across jobs
In order to enter, succeed and move around in a job
cluster, young people will need the relevant technical
and enterprise skills. Young people will likely require a
combination of formal training, on-the-job training and
experiential learning to develop both the specific technical
skills, such as JavaScript, CAD or forklift operation, and
the most highly-demanded enterprise skills, such as team
work, creativity or problem solving.

Workers and employers often think of technical skills as

specific to a particular job or task, such as surgical skills if
you are a veterinarian or JavaScript if you are a computer
programmer. However, online job advertisements
reveal that many technical skills appear across multiple
occupations in a cluster of work and are not just specific
to a single job. A specific job will often still require a

5
Data for this report was primarily sourced from Burning Glass Labor InsightTM database. For more information about this data source, please contact Sydney@
alphabeta.com
6
Job is defined as a 6-digit occupation code in the ABS ANZSCO classification of occupations. This is the most granular level of occupation.

fya.org.au 8
 clusters as a whole, young people could also navigate
Some job clusters have stronger their way in the job cluster by targeting roles that are
future prospects than others most likely to grow.

While it is helpful to understand the current labour

market, young people in Australia also need information
about the labour market of the future, to help guide the The New Mindset: Helping young
decisions they need to make about training and entry-
level job applications.
people to navigate work now and
in the future
Each of the 7 job clusters have different future prospects,
with some offering greater long term security than This report continues our national conversation on how
others on average. To understand the future prospects to reconceptualise the future of work. So much of the
of each job cluster, the occupations within each cluster existing information available to young people paints an
were ranked on likely future growth7 and resistance to incomplete picture: lists of the top 10 jobs of the future,
automation.8 Of the 7 clusters of work: The Artisans and the industries or roles that are predicted to grow most
The Coordinators are likely to experience lower growth quickly, or the advanced digital skills they will require.
and high exposure to automation; The Generators and Instead, big data can be used to inform young people,
The Designers are likely to experience moderate growth educators and parents about the skill patterns, or
and medium exposure to automation; and The Carers, footprints, that exist in our labour market and will persist
The Informers, and The Technologists are most likely to into the future.
grow and persist into the future. Over time, the jobs that
comprise these clusters of work will change, as will the By conducting analysis of the skills requested in millions
names and number of clusters of work. More job clusters of job advertisements, it is clear that conversation about
may arise, based on new occupations and new skills being work needs to progress beyond the 1000+ occupations
demanded and valued by employers. that comprise the economy. A number of potential
implications arise for employers, parents, young people,
When selecting their preferred job cluster, young people educators and policy makers. Section 6 outlines some
could consider those with the strongest future prospects. options that can be considered in supporting young
However, irrespective of the different prospects for job people to navigate the New Work Order.

7
Total five-year job growth for occupations within a job cluster, measured over the period 2010 to 2015. Source: ABS. See Appendix A.3 for a detailed methodology.
8
Probability that the occupation will be affected by automation over the next 10-15 years. Source: Data provided by NICTA, as reported in CEDA (2015) ‘Australia’s Future
Workforce’, Chapter 1.4. See Appendix A.3 for a detailed methodology.

fya.org.au 9
 A note on online job advertisements: While it is
Methodology-in-brief: Uncovering acknowledged that online job advertisements do not
the job clusters in Australia’s cover all jobs on offer in the workforce, research suggests
they do represent a substantial proportion of demand for
economy labour. The myth that some 80% of jobs are “hidden”, or
never advertised, has been quashed by recent analysis in
Rather than using anecdote or common sense to assess
the US of online job postings and Government vacancy
how jobs could be grouped or are related, it is more
surveys (Carnevale et al 2014). The research found that 60
instructive to look at the technical and enterprise skills
to 70% of jobs are advertised online. Further, jobs that are
that employers actually request across millions of job
less senior, and therefore more relevant to young people,
advertisements. In order to uncover the clusters of work
are more likely to be advertised than recruited offline via
in Australia, the skills requested by employers across
networks.
2.7 million online job advertisements posted over the
past two years were analysed. For each of the more Given that the data for this report is drawn from
than 600 occupations, the intensity (proportion of job online job advertisements, the skills required for self-
ads requesting the skill) of approximately 4,600 unique employment and entrepreneurship are likely to be under-
skills were analysed and a similarity score assigned to represented.
each pair of occupations. Using a clustering algorithm,
the occupations were then grouped based on whether Data for this report was primarily sourced from Burning
employers demanded similar skills from applicants (See Glass, Labor Insight. For more information on this data
illustrative image below). For a detailed explanation of the source, please contact [email protected]
clustering methodology, please see Appendix A.3.

Job clusters were created by analysing 2.7 million job advertisements

The Designers*

Construction
Civil Construction Process
Planning project Occupations
engineer Management improvement
manager

Cost Skills
Problem
solving management Project
management
Inspection Organisational
skills 7 'clusters' of jobs
Collaboration were identified by
Computer-
Quality Presentation grouping clusters
aided design
assurance skills
around similar
Building skills.
Detail- Architect
inspector
oriented

Policy impact Curriculum Scale

assessment development modeling
Skills outside of job
clusters are not demanded
Strategic
The Informers* in many job ads in that cluster
planning

Policy Prioritising Communication

Writing Teacher
analyst tasks skills

Problem
solving Analytical
Process skills Presentation
improvement Critical skills
* Job clusters depicted
thinking
Maths are illustrative and
comprise a stylized
Data
Economics Computer representation of the
analysis
skills skills and occupations
within a job cluster.
Microsoft Statistician Actual job clusters
Excel SQL
comprise >100 skills a
 nd
10-140 occupation codes.

fya.org.au 10
 THE FUTURE OF WORK IS COMPLEX BUT OUR
1. SKILLS ARE MORE PORTABLE THAN WE REALISE

The era of a tenured ‘job for life’ is over and most people except for knowledge on legal compliance and inspection.
move between roles through their careers. In fact, young By understanding that jobs are more related and that
Australians entering the workforce today might have skills are more portable between jobs than previously
as many as 5 different careers and make 17 changes in realised, there is an opportunity to be more strategic in
employers over their working lives.9 The media often navigating dynamic working lives. Rather than seeing
focuses on automation and globalisation because of learning as a one-off process before our first job or as
concerns that workers will not be able to utilise their skills a radical retraining to pivot careers, young people can
in jobs as they change or new jobs as they emerge. It is build a portfolio of skills within a job cluster and target
commonly viewed that moving from one occupation to key learning areas to open up related job and career
another would entail high switching and retraining costs. opportunities throughout their life course. The case
However, jobs are more related than we might first think. study “Zach’s story of portability using real-life job ads
Not all jobs require the acquisition of an entirely new skill data” provides an example of an individual transitioning
set; instead, the skill sets of many jobs are ‘portable’ to between roles by supplementing his existing portfolio of
other jobs. In fact, on average, when a person trains or relevant skills with additional technical training.
works in 1 job, they acquire skills for 13 other jobs.10 This
This mindset shift is required not just of young people but
is because, for many jobs, employers demand very similar
of employers, educators, parents and policy makers. On
skills.
the supply side, young people can think about how their
Exhibit 1 provides an example from online jobs data of existing skills would be valuable for multiple different
the portability of the skills gained as an Environmental roles. On the demand side, employers could consider
Research Scientist. Environmental Research Scientist is the breadth of potential candidates from different
portable into multiple other jobs, 13 of which are depicted occupations with similar skills. If this mindset shift was
in the exhibit. The skills gained by working or training to take place, we might view the debate around a skills
as an Environmental Research Scientist are considered mismatch differently: training for one occupation and
portable to the other roles like Medical Administrator, Fire working in another occupation would not be a ‘mismatch’
Officer, Life Science Technician, and Zoologist because if a person was deploying a relevant skillset.
there is a high overlap of skills requested in these roles.
For example, Environmental Research Scientist commonly
When a person trains or works in
requests communication skills, planning, research, project
management, natural resource management, and skills 1 job, they acquire skills for 13
in local government in its job ads. Likewise, a fire officer other jobs, on average
requests communication skills project management, skills
in local government, natural resource management and
13
environmental protection. 12
3 5 7 9
Of course, job switches will often demand additional 11
technical skills or subject matter expertise that are 2 8 10
acquired through lengthy formal or on-the-job training.
4
But some job switches only demand a few new skills. 6
In fact, for someone who has already trained for or
worked in one job, 44 different jobs only request one
additional skill.11 If you are an aircraft baggage handler,
for example, you might possess most of the top skills 1
required to become a customs and inspection officer

9
McCrindle Research (2014) “Job mobility in Australia” using HILDA and Department of Employment data. Available at: http://mccrindle.com.au/the-mccrindle-blog/job-
mobility-in-australia
Determined by the number of alternative jobs that demand skills that have already been acquired in the course of a given job. See Appendix A.5 for a detailed
10

methodology.
11
Determined by the number of alternative jobs that demand skills that have already been acquired in the course of a given job, plus require a single additional skill that is
demanded at a higher intensity (>15% gap in the proportion of jobs demanding the skill) by alternative jobs than by the given job. Note that the 44 additional jobs do not
request the same new skill but could each require the acquisition of a different single skill. These technical skills vary in difficulty and the time it takes to acquire the skill.

fya.org.au 11
Exhibit 1: Skills acquired from one job are ‘portable’ to 13 other jobs, on average

Example of skills that are transferable across jobs:

The portability of Environmental Research Scientist

Communication
Planning Communication Training
skills
skills

Project Local
Research Writing management Government
Medical
technitian
Life science
technician Fire Officer
Natural Natural
Data Environment
resource resource
analysis protection
management management
Animal
Data Transport
attendant
analysis company
Communication Training manager
skills
OHS
Local
Government
Natural Research Writing
Quality
Medical resource assurance & Inspector or
administrator management control regulatory
officer
Environmental
Research
Business
Project Scientist Development
management
Corporate
Nursery services
person manager
Supervisory
skills Planning
OHS

Contract Local Information &

Management Government organisation
Manufacturing
professional Communication
production Research
skills
manager
Gallery or
Engineering museum
Communication
skills professional technician
Project Data
management analysis

Training Planning
Contract Business
Management Development

Contract
Research
Management

Communication Supervisory
Business skills skills Communication
Development OHS skills
Research

Training Planning Contract

Training
Management

Quality
Contract
assurance & Policy
Management Planning
control Development

Data
OHS analysis

fya.org.au 12
Zach’s story of portability using real-life job ads data…
Zach is a 23-year old who has worked as a labourer for • Likewise, from his work and training as a labourer,
four years. He is looking for a change and is considering many of Zach’s technical skills are also portable.
a move within his current job cluster, ‘The Artisans’. He His knowledge about the construction industry,
wants to use many of the skills he has already acquired project management and construction management
as a labourer and looks at becoming a ‘construction are among the top skills required to become a
estimator’. A construction estimator quantifies the construction estimator. But he has a few technical
material, labour and equipment required to complete a and subject matter gaps: namely, estimating, cost
building project. estimating and computing skills.

• From his work and training as a labourer, Zach has Zach decides to fill these skill gaps by undertaking a short
acquired many of the top enterprise skills required course at TAFE on Building and Construction (Estimating).
for construction estimation. The most common Given his prior experience as a labourer, Zach gets some
enterprise skills demanded by both his labouring job credit for a number of subjects where he has strong
and the construction estimation job are very similar, existing knowledge. His many relevant experiences as a
including communication skills, organisation skills, labourer help him in his job interview with a large building
team work, time management and detail-orientation. company, where he now works in building scheduling and
estimating.

Methodology-in-brief: Assessing portability of jobs

A persons’ skills are considered ‘portable’ between jobs skill has a difference in intensity (i.e. the proportion of job
if each job demands the skills as frequently as the other. ads demanding the skill) of >15% between the jobs, the
For example, despite the strong overlap of the (illustrative) skills of one job are not considered portable to the new
skills between a Civil Engineer and an Architect, the skills job (See illustrative image below).
of a Civil Engineer are not considered ‘portable’ to an
For further detail on how portability was measured,
Architect because one skill (interior design) is demanded
please see Appendix A.4.
too infrequently by Civil Engineer employers. That is, if one

Example where skills are not portable between jobs

The intensity1 of skill demand for all occupations are compared, and occupations
with highly-similar skill intensities are deemed ‘portable’

Skill requested Civil Engineer Architect Skill intensity gap2

Problem 53% of jobs request 51% of jobs request
solving this skill this skill
2%
If any one skill
Mathematics 52% 44% 8%
has an intensity
Computer-assisted gap2 larger than
drafting/design 63% 63% 8% 15%, then the
skills of a Civil
Interior design 4% 23% -19% Engineer are
Technical not considered
drawing 42% 40% 2% ‘portable’ into
Project Architecture
planning 38% 35% 3% roles
Microsoft
Office 71% 64% 7%
Communication
skills 80% 85% -5%
Contract
management 78% 70% 8%
Concept
development 48% 49% -1%

1
Skill ‘intensity’ refers to the proportion of job ads demanding the skill.
2
Skill intensity gap = (Skill intensity for Civil Engineer) – (Skill intensity for Architect)

fya.org.au 13
 THERE ARE 7 NEW JOB CLUSTERS
2. IN AUSTRALIA

The job switching and leapfrogging that we

observe in today’s workforce is not random:
individuals move between roles that are
related and which build on our prior skills and ‘The Artisans’
expertise. But this reality isn’t always reflected
in the way that young people are encouraged ‘The Designers’
to think about their working lives. Instead,
we ask young people to visualise their ‘dream ‘The Generators’

job’ and pick an often narrow training option.

Rather than making study and work decisions
based on a narrow concept of a lifelong
occupation, we could encourage young people
to think about the broader direction of work ‘The Informers’
type they want to perform and to build a
‘The Coordinators’
portfolio of skills that give them a wide range ‘The Technologists’
of options.

In choosing a career, a young person could

therefore think not just about their first job
but about the cluster of roles that it might
open up. There are 7 job clusters in Australia’s
workforce (Exhibit 2), namely ‘The Generators’,
‘The Artisans’, ‘The Carers’, ‘The Coordinators’,
‘The Carers’
‘The Designers’, ‘The Informers’ and ‘The
Technologists’.

11
Carnevale et al “Understanding online job ads data” (April 2014) Georgetown University, Center on Education and the Workforce
12
These skills have been selected from a list of 160 enterprise skills that were analysed. A longer list is provided in the Appendix.

fya.org.au 14
Exhibit 2: There are 7 job clusters in the Australian economy, based on skills
demanded by employers
These job clusters each currently comprise a variety of occupations, ranging from 10 up to 140 occupations depending on
the particular cluster.12

Comprises jobs that... Occupations currently in this job cluster

...require a high level of Total: 65

interpersonal interaction Includes: sales representatives, retail supervisors, cafe managers, hotel
in retail, sales, hospitality managers, bank managers, entertainers, interpreters and airline ground crew.
and entertainment.
Industries closely linked with this job cluster include: Tourism, Retail
‘The Generators’ & Wholesale Trade, Accommodation & Food Services, and Arts & Recreation
Services.

...require skill in Total: 118

manual tasks related to Includes: machinery operators, landscape gardeners, electricians, crop &
construction, production, livestock farm workers, plumbers, and carpenters.
‘The Artisans’ maintenance or technical
Industries closely linked with this job cluster include: Construction,
customer service.
Agriculture, Mining, Manufacturing, Utilities and Logistics.

...seek to improve the Total: 131

mental or physical health
Includes: GPs, social workers, childcare workers, fitness instructors, surgeons,
or well-being of others,
counsellors and beauty therapists.
including medical, care
and personal support Industries closely linked with this job cluster include: Health Care &
‘The Carers’ Social Assistance
services.

...involve repetitive Total: 59

administrative and Includes: bookkeepers, printers, fast food cooks, bus drivers, furniture
behind-the-scenes removalists, law clerks, receptionists and car park attendants.
‘The process or service tasks
Coordinators’ Industries closely linked with this job cluster include: Administrative
Services and Logistics.

...involve deploying skills Total: 70

and knowledge of science, Includes: architects, electrical engineers, clothing patternmakers, food
mathematics and design technologists, building inspectors, product testers, industrial engineers,
to construct or engineer geologists and draftspersons.
‘The Designers’
products or buildings.
Industries closely linked with this job cluster include: Architectural,
Engineering & Technical Services.

...involve professionals Total: 142

providing information, Includes: primary and secondary school teachers, economists, intelligence
education or business officers, accountants, policy analysts, solicitors, organisational psychologists,
services museum curators, and HR advisers.
‘The Informers’ Industries closely linked with this job cluster include: Professional,
Scientific & Technical services and Education & Training.

...require skilled Total: 10

understanding and Includes: programmers, software engineers, database administrators, web
manipulation of digital designers and ICT business analysts.
technology.
Industries closely linked with this job cluster include: Computer System
‘The Technologists’
Design & Related Services and Information Media & Telecommunication
Services.

12
Occupations are reported at the 6-digit level, which is the most granular level of occupations. There are >1000 occupations in the current
ANZSCO classification system at this level.
*
The Technologists comprises occupations that require a high level of skill in building and manipulating digital technology. The high intensity
of the technical skills requested in this job cluster occurs in only a small number of occupations.

fya.org.au 15
What does this strong relationship between jobs mean for Young people can use jobs (Section 2) and skills most
a young person? Given the overlap in skills demanded by commonly requested in a job cluster (Section 3) to help
employers, a young person could think about the cluster them identify the best fit with their passions, interests
of work they want to move within rather than which of and strengths.
the economy’s 1000+ jobs they want.

When making this decision, a young person can consider

2.2 Gaining early-career
the job cluster that best fits their interests and strengths experience in a job cluster
and test this view by gaining work experience through early-
career roles that employers often offer to young people. Young people can test their fit within a job cluster and
gain crucial experience early in their careers through
specific jobs that employers offer more frequently to
2.1 Finding a job cluster that young people (Exhibit 3). The skills gained in this work
best matches a young person’s experience can be used to lay good foundations in the
core skills requested in a job cluster and help to expose
interests and strengths young people to other potential roles that might be of
interest to them. Rather than seeking casual or part-
A young person can reflect on which of the job clusters
time work in retail or hospitality, for example, a young
best match their interests and strengths. Usefully, each
person who is considering their options could test their
of the 7 clusters of work comprise a list of jobs and skills
interest and build some of the core skills required in a job
that employers value most. For example, ‘The Informers’
cluster through an early-career role in that cluster (See
job cluster comprises jobs that involve tertiary-educated
case study: An example of early-career experience in a
professionals providing information, education or
job cluster…) Young people can either remain in these
business services. The 142 jobs in this job cluster include
roles or add the additional skills required to progress to
primary and second school teachers, intelligence officers,
different roles through formal and on-the-job training.
accountants, policy analysts, solicitors and HR advisers.
The skills most commonly requested by employers There are a number of early-career experiences that
include data analysis, report writing, financial analysis, employers commonly make available to young people13
risk management and policy development, as well as skills across each of the job clusters, which help young people
related to teaching and curriculum development. to get their ‘break’ in the job cluster and pick up valuable
cross-cutting skills early in their working lives:

Exhibit 3: Example early career occupations in each job cluster

‘The Generators’: Young people often gain ‘The Designers’: Young people typically
early career experience in this job cluster often gain early career experience in this job
through roles like sales assistant, autoglazier, cluster through roles such as civil engineering
telemarketer, retail supervisor, kitchenhand, draftsperson, quantity surveyor, metallurgist,
sports coach or instructor and shelf filler. industrial designer, structural engineer, and civil
engineer.
‘The Artisans’: Young people often gain early
career experience in this job cluster through
roles such as carpenter, roof tiler, mining ‘The Informers’: Young people often gain
support worker, drainer, electrician, plumber, early career experience in this job cluster
air-conditioning & refrigeration mechanic, and through jobs like recruitment consultant,
motor mechanic. event organiser, bank worker, PR professional,
‘The Carers’: Young people often gain early statistical clerk, marketing specialist, private
career experience in this job cluster through tutor, and multimedia designer.
roles such as dental assistant, childcare worker,
veterinary nurse, beauty therapist, and fitness ‘The Technologists’: Young people often
instructor. gain early career experience in this job cluster
through roles like web developer, web designer
‘The Coordinators’: Young people often gain and web administrator.
early career experience in this job cluster
through roles such as bar attendant, office Understanding the types of jobs that employers
cashier, service station attendant, and fast food
typically offer to young people can help young
cook.
people gain valuable early career experience, which
will enable them to pick up some of the core skills
required to move within a job cluster.

13
Roles specified in this list have a disproportionately high proportion of young people compared to the average across the workforce. Source: ABS Detailed Labour Force.

fya.org.au 16
An example of early-career experience in a job cluster...
Isabelle is taking a gap year and is thinking about what become comfortable with personal hygiene. She also
to do next. She is interested in a job within ‘The Carers’ builds a number of the relevant enterprise skills that
cluster of work but isn’t sure about the specific role. She are most commonly demanded in ‘The Carers’ cluster of
enrolls in a health sciences study program and decides work such as communication, training, customer service,
to gain some work experience as an assistant at the team work and time management skills. Isabelle doesn’t
local dental surgery, and quits her casual waitressing want to remain in the dental profession but uses these
job. This role exposes her to the medical industry, gains experiences to gain skills and references that help her
her valuable skills in patient care and requires her to eventually take a role as a speech pathologist.

fya.org.au 17
 JOB CLUSTERS REQUIRE SIMILAR SKILLS THAT
3. ARE OFTEN PORTABLE ACROSS OCCUPATIONS

In order to enter, succeed and move around in a job online job advertisements reveal that many technical skills
cluster, young people will need the relevant technical appear across multiple occupations in a job cluster and are
and enterprise skills. Young people will likely require a not just specific to a single job. While these skills can vary in
combination of formal training, on-the-job training and difficulty and the amount of training required, employers
experiential learning to develop both the specific technical list all these skills in job advertisements rather than
skills, such as JavaScript, CAD or forklift operation, and focusing only on the most intensive. The most common
the most highly-demanded enterprise skills, such as team technical skills currently demanded by each job cluster are
work, creativity or problem solving. summarised in Exhibit 4.

A specific job will often still require a specific technical

3.1 Some technical skills are skill or subject matter expertise, but picking up many
requested in multiple jobs within of the core technical skills in a job cluster will enable
young people to move across the job cluster and to more
a cluster
easily shift into the unknown jobs of the future within it.
We often think of technical skills as specific to a particular Appendix A.2 comprises more detailed lists of technical
job or task, such as surgical skills if you are a veterinarian skills requested within each job cluster.
or JavaScript if you are a computer programmer. However,

Exhibit 4: What formal training and technical skills are most commonly requested
by employers?

The cluster focuses on Technical skills commonly requested in the

Job cluster
skills related to… cluster:

'The Generators' generating sales and • Business development and sales support, managing
sales relationships, customer relationship management,
contract management

front of house retail or hospitality • Store management, merchandising, stock control

services

'The Artisans' generic manual functions • Workplace health and safety, machinery operation, first
aid, inspection, contract management

as well as specific technical skills • Forklift operation, hand and power tools operation,
welding, plumbing, carpentry

'The Carer' generic patient or client services • Screening, first aid, patient care, cleaning, occupational
health & safety, data entry, case management
as well as specific technical skills. • Clinical experience, rehabilitation, child protection,
psychology, therapy

'The Coordinators' administrative tasks and • Data entry, contract management, word processing,
invoicing, scheduling

back-of-house functions • Food safety, cooking

'The Designers' broadly applicable skills • Contract management, procurement, inspection business
process, scheduling
as well as more specific • Civil engineering, concept development, construction
technical skills management, estimating, computeraided design

'The Informers' content required to provide • Data analysis, report writing, financial analysis, risk
education or business advisory management, policy development
services
as well teaching related skills • Curriculum development, lesson planning

'The Technologists' programming and • Java, SQL

IT software development • Sharepoint, Adobe Photoshop and website development

fya.org.au 18
 3.2 Key enterprise skills appear across multiple
jobs within a job cluster

What are enterprise skills?

Enterprise skills are transferable skills that enable young people to engage with a complex
world and navigate the challenges they will inherit. Enterprise skills are not just for
entrepreneurs; they are skills that are required in many jobs. They have been found to be
a powerful predictor of long-term job success. The terms used to describe these skills vary
across different contexts: sometimes called generic, soft, or 21st century skills.

While there are some enterprise skills that are commonly related to writing, problem solving, research, creativity
sought across job clusters, such as communication skills, and team work. Interestingly, digital literacy is demanded
writing, training others, digital literacy and problem across most job clusters, as it a core transferable skill but
solving, employers in different clusters of work demand demanding technical skills related to building information
some enterprise skills more often than others.14 For technology form part of the Technologists job cluster.
example, The Artisans job cluster focuses primarily on
Currently, the enterprise skills most demanded by job
the capacity to train others, problem solve and manage
cluster are summarised in Exhibit 4.
time, whereas The Informers job cluster requests skills

Exhibit 5: What enterprise skills are most commonly demanded by employers?

The cluster focuses on Enterprise skills commonly requested in the
Job cluster
skills related to… cluster:

'The Generators' customer service and • Communication skills, building effective relationships,
customer service
organisational skills • Planning, time management, digital literacy

'The Artisans' organisational skills and • Detail-orientation, planning, problem solving, digital
literacy
interaction skills • Capacity to train others, communication skills, team work

'The Carer' Interaction skills, • Communication skills, team work, teaching, customer
service
problem solving and • Problem solving, research
organisational skills • Planning, time management, detail-orientation

'The Coordinators' organisational skills and • Time management, detail-orientation, digital literacy
customer service • Communication skills, team work, customer service

'The Designers' problem solving and • Problem solving, digital literacy

project management skills • Planning, Quality assurance, project management, time
management

'The Informers' interaction skills, • Communications skills, written communication, teaching

problem solving and • Problem solving, creativity, research
detail-orientation skills • Detail-orientation, project management, digital literacy

'The Technologists' interaction skills and • Communication skills, customer services, team work,
detail-orientation skills • Detail-orientation, planning, quality assurance, project
management

The set of core technical and enterprise skills outlined for each job cluster in this report can be used by young people
to identify the types of courses they might want to enroll in or work experience they might want to acquire. Likewise,
educators and policy makers could use these lists to help design the offerings that are core to multiple curricula.

14
Demand for a given skill across a job cluster is observed by the fraction of occupations in that job cluster where the skill is within the top-20 demanded by employers
(as measured by the proportion of job ads requesting the skill).

fya.org.au 19
 SOME JOB CLUSTERS HAVE
4. STRONGER FUTURE PROSPECTS

As technology transforms the way we live and work, Some clusters of work have more of the resilient jobs
young people don’t only need to consider what job is right because the skills that are commonly requested are
for them; they also need to think about whether that job more resilient to automation. Of the 7 job clusters: ‘The
will still be around in twenty or thirty years time. Recent Artisans’ and ‘The Coordinators’ are likely to experience
studies have shown that approximately 40% of jobs that lower growth and high exposure to automation; ‘The
exist today have a high probability of being affected by Generators’ and ‘The Designers’ are likely to experience
automation in the next 10-15 years.15 While it is helpful to moderate growth and medium exposure to automation;
understand the current labour market, young people in and ‘The Carers’, ‘The Informers’, and ‘The Technologists’
Australia also need information about the labour market are most likely to grow and persist into the future. Over
of the future, to help guide the decisions they need to time, the jobs that comprise these clusters of work will
make about about training, skill development and entry- change, as will the names and number of clusters of
level job applications. work. Additional job clusters may arise, based on new
occupations and new skills being demanded and valued
Each of the 7 job clusters have different future prospects, by employers (Exhibit 6).
with some offering greater long-term security than
others on average. To understand the future prospects However, irrespective of the different prospects for job
of each job cluster, we ranked them based on their likely clusters as a whole, there are jobs within each cluster of
future growth16 and resistance to automation.17 There are work that have stronger future prospects. Young people
obviously other forces that will affect the future prospects could target the specific roles that are most likely to grow.
of jobs, including megatrends related to demographics,
In addition to picking a job cluster that matches best with
sustainability and changing economic dynamics in Asia.
their passions, interests and strengths, a young person
Within each cluster there are jobs that will be resilient and could ensure their choice has good future prospects or
others that are more likely to be affected by automation. that they navigate through the job cluster via roles that
are likely to grow in the next 10-15 years.

15
CEDA (2015) ‘Australia’s Future Workforce’, Chapter 1.4.
16
Total five-year job growth for occupations within a job cluster, measured over the period 2010 to 2015. Source: ABS. See Appendix A.3 for a detailed methodology.
Probability that the occupation will be affected by automation over the next 10-15 years. Source: Data provided by NICTA, as reported in CEDA (2015) ‘Australia’s Future
17

Workforce’, Chapter 1.4. See Appendix A.3 for a detailed methodology.

fya.org.au 20
Exhibit 6: Which job clusters have the strongest future prospects?

Example jobs within the cluster that have strong

Growth and Future
Clusters future prospects (occupations grew 2010-2015 and risk
Automation Prospect
of impact of automation is <70%)

Job Growth (2010-15) Moderate ICT sales reps Entertainers & variety
artists
7.4%
Retail supervisors
Café or restaurant Hospitality managers
managers Sports instructors
Affected by automation
Call centre team leaders Bank managers
‘The Generators’
45%
Job Growth (2010-15) Weak Carpenters & joiners

5.6%
Landscape gardeners
Electrical engineering technicians
Mechanics
Affected by automation
‘The Artisans’ Upholsterers

77% Electricians

Job Growth (2010-15) Strong General practitioners Tour guides Special education
teachers
18.0%
Nurses Beauty therapists
Podiatrists Make-up artists Fitness instructors

Dental technicians Community health Emergency service

Affected by automation workers
Health promotion workers

26% officers Massage therapists Psychiatrists

Pharmacists Cardiac technicians Paramedics

‘The Carers’ Veterinarians Anaesthetic technicians Surgeons

Radio-graphers Childcare workers Social workers

Physio-therapists Occupational
therapists

Job Growth (2010-15) Weak Receptionists

3.0%
Travel attendants
Florists
ICT support technicians
‘The Coordinators’ Affected by automation
Admissions clerks

71%
Job Growth (2010-15) Moderate Construction project Project administrators Mining engineers
managers
13.1%
Electrical engineers Landscape architects
Civil engineers Architects Food technologists
Computer network & Industrial engineers
Affected by automation system engineers
‘The Designers’ Geologists

43%

Job Growth (2010-15) Strong Policy analysts OH&S advisers Market research
analysts
7.6%
Statisticians Financial brokers
Physicists Solicitors Journalists

Gallery or museum Technical writers Primary & secondary

Affected by automation school teachers
curators Actuaries

‘The Informers’ 36% Economists

Laboratory managers
Detectives
Organisa-tional
Human resource psychologists
advisers

Job Growth (2010-15) Strong Programmers

Additional job clusters
19.0%
Software engineers
may arise, based on
Web developers
new occupations
Database and new skills being
Affected by automation
administrators demanded and valued
New Cluster?
‘The Technologists’
50% Web designers by employers

* Refer to Appendix A.3 for further detail

fya.org.au 21
 THE NEW MINDSET: HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE
5. TO NAVIGATE WORK NOW AND IN THE FUTURE

This report continues our national conversation on how For employers and recruiters:
to reconceptualise the future of work. So much of the
existing information available to young people paints an Employers and recruiters could consider a wider breadth
incomplete picture: lists of the top 10 jobs of the future, of potential candidates, from other occupations with
the industries or roles that are predicted to grow most similar skills, when recruiting for positions. This will widen
quickly, or the advanced digital skills they will require.18 the pool of candidates and may help to both reduce
Instead, big data can be used to inform young people, vacancies and drive better labour-market matching.
educators and parents about the skill patterns, or For educators:
footprints, that exist in our labour market and will persist
into the future. University, VET and TAFE providers could consider
designing curriculum to support the core skills requested
By conducting analysis of the skills requested in millions in each job cluster.
of job advertisements, it is clear that conversation about
work needs to progress beyond the 1000+ occupations Course information could better identify the many
that comprise the economy. For the first-time we can different jobs that specific courses prepare young people
demonstrate that: for, rather than single occupations.

• Young People are skilled for more jobs than they For policy-makers:
realise: in fact, when a person trains or works in 1 job, Policy-makers need to map skills by occupation and
they become skilled for 13 other jobs on average. group occupations with a high overlap of skills (similar to
• There are 7 job clusters in the Australian economy. the methodology outlined in this report) and make this
Young people can use the typical jobs and skills information accessible and routinely updated.
requested in a cluster to identify their best fit and can Policy-makers and educators need to ensure that young
test this fit with early-career job opportunities in the people are equipped with the skills required to manage
cluster. multiple shifts in jobs, lifelong learning and iterative skill
• Employers value numerous common technical and acquisition.
enterprise skills within a job cluster. For careers advisers:
• Some job clusters have more promising future Careers advisers could present information differently to
prospects than others. include: The clusters of work; the breadth of jobs available
By thinking of skills as portable across many roles and to a young person given a particular skill set; and the one
thinking of jobs as part of 7 clusters, rather than as 1000+ or two additional skills required to switch from one job to
isolated occupations, a number of potential implications another job.
arise for parents, young people, educators, employers For parents:
and policy makers.
Parents could view some of the job and training switches
For young people: made by their children as part of gaining the core,
Young people can think of the types of related jobs that portable skills required to move within a job cluster.
fit their interests and strengths and discover the core No matter how the discussion progresses, the continued
skills required for those jobs. Decisions about training dynamism of work highlights the need for young people
and work experience can be guided by the core skills that to be well equipped with the skills required to manage
young people need to acquire to succeed in a job cluster. their careers and their lifelong learning.18 The New Work
Mindset is here. We have an exciting opportunity to recast
the uncertain future of work as an opportunity for young
people to develop a skill portfolio of skills they will deploy
across a coherent set of roles.

18
CICA defines career management skills as the capacity to “identify their
existing skills, develop career learning goals and take action to enhance their
careers.” https://cica.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Understanding-career-
management-skills-Final-Feb-2016.pdf

fya.org.au 22
APPENDIX
A.1 Limitations of current skills information and 3. Industries of the future in Australia, such as tourism,
reporting international educational, health and aged care, and professional
services.
In the context of uncertainty, it is not easy to make decisions if
you are a teacher or student today. Amid the growing discussion • Helpfully, these lists of attractive future industries provide a
about automation, globalisation, flexibility and the jobs of picture of the Australian economy in the future.
the future, it is challenging to know what to teach, what to
• But such a picture does not assist educators or students
choose to study, or where to apply for your first job. This is not
with an understanding of the skills required to participate in
because there is an information vacuum. Instead the difficulty
that industry. Jobs across industries are very heterogeneous
with making good decisions arises, in part, because existing
in their skill requirements e.g. health covers jobs as different
information and reporting on jobs growth and the jobs of the
as a blood collector, surgeon and hospital administrator.
future face a number of limitations. Existing information and
reporting typically focuses on:
Given these challenges, we believe it is worth supplementing
the existing lists of top occupations, skills and industries with
1. Top occupations or skills that are expected to be in high
different insights based on this first-time analysis of clusters of
demand, such as web developers, data analysts, physical
skills into job clusters. In order for skills information to be most
therapists and aged care professionals.
helpful for policy makers, educators, students and parents, it
• These types of lists are helpful for an education provider should meet four principles:
thinking about the specific courses they should offer or
• Applies to whole-of-workforce: Reflects the skills required
boost available places, or a student thinking about the
across the whole economy, rather than for select or niche
courses they should enroll in to guarantee employment in
occupations
the near term.
• Reflects dynamism of working lives and lifelong learning:
• However, these lists fail to help an educator understand
Recognises that working lives are most likely to be broader
the core skills that need to be taught across courses or the
than a single occupation and involve multiple career shifts,
breadth and mix of courses that should be offered.
which often draw on similar skills. Reflects the concept of
2. Advanced, digital skills that will be required for the future, lifelong learning
such as ‘computational thinking’, ‘new-media literacy’, ‘design
• Encompasses all types of skills: Holistically represents skill
mindset’ and ‘virtual collaboration’.
requirements as comprising both technical and enterprise
• These shortlists of skills help education providers think skills
about some of the key skills of the future, especially digital
• Applies now and in the future: Reflects skill requirements
skills, which should be incorporated into some courses.
today and in the future
• However, these lists are often unduly narrow and reflect a
small (albeit exciting and growing) proportion of jobs and
skills required to participate in the broader economy.

Exhibit A.1 (i)

Skills information should meet four principles

Principles for skills information New insights from new methodology

• Reflect all jobs, rather than roles with an • Generates distinctive clusters, reflecting the diversity
Applies to whole- unrepresentative set of jobs of career preferences
A
of-workforce • Reflect the skills required across the whole economy, • Analyses >600 occupation codes across the whole
rather than for select or niche occupations economy
• Recognise that working lives are often broader than
Reflects a single occupation and involve multiple career shifts,
• Groups occupations into clusters by skill, in
dynamism of which often draw on similar skills
recognition that not all workers follow a single
B working lives and occupation path but instead utilise their skills across
• Reflects concept of lifelong learning and development
lifelong learning fields
of related skillsets

Encompasses all • Holistically represent skill requirements as • Both technical and enterprise skills are analysed and
C
types of skills comprising both technical and enterprise skills grouped in combinations that employers demand
• Analyses skills demanded by employers today and
Applies now and • Reflects both current skill demands and skills that will
D the skill requirements likely to remain in growth
in the future be needed in the future
occupations that are less vulnerable to automation

19
For example, see http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathryndill/2015/11/09/the-20-occupations-with-the-strongest-growth-this-year/#7f4456403ff3 or https://blog.linkedin.
com/2016/01/12/the-25-skills-that-can-get-you-hired-in-2016
20
For example, see http://www.iftf.org/uploads/media/SR-1382A_UPRI_future_work_skills_sm.pdf
21
For example, see http://www.mckinsey.com/global-locations/pacific australia/en/latest-thinking/compete-to-prosper

fya.org.au 23
A.2 Detailed Methodology – Developing job clusters Skills Intensity in Intensity in Squared distance of
i: Occupation 1 Occupation 2 skill intensities:
1. Skills data was collected for all unique occupations over the
two most recent financial years (FY15 & FY16, i.e. July 2014 to 1 Intensity 1,1 Intensity 1,2 d12 = (Int.1,1 – Int.1,2)2
June 2016) using online job advertisements, including data from 2 Intensity 2,1 Intensity 2,2 d22 = (Int.2,1 – Int.2,2)2
Burning Glass.
3 Intensity 3,1 Intensity 3,2 d32 = (Int.3,1 – Int.3,2)2
• Occupations are defined at the 6-digit level, as per the latest 4 Intensity 4,1 Intensity 4,2 d42 = (Int.4,1 – Int.4,2)2
ANZSCO classification (2013) 5 Intensity 5,1 Intensity 5,2 d52 = (Int.5,1 – Int.5,2)2

• For statistical reliability, only occupations with at least 50 job • A dissimilarity score for each pair is then calculated
ads over the 2-year period were included by aggregating (summing) the squared skill intensity
‘distances’ between the occupations for each skill, and
• For each of the unique occupations satisfying this criterion
taking the square root:
(625), the number of skill references in job ads were then
analysed
Skills, i: Squared distance of skill intensities:
• Skills demanded are categorized as either: 1 d = (Int.1,1 – Int.1,2)2
2 d22 = (Int.2,1 – Int.2,2)2
• Enterprise skills (highly transferable – e.g.
communication skills or leadership) 3 d32 = (Int.3,1 – Int.3,2)2
4 d42 = (Int.4,1 – Int.4,2)2
• Technical skills (skills that typically require formal or
5 d52 = (Int.5,1 – Int.5,2)2
on-the-job training specific to a task – e.g. SQL coding,
forklift operation, visual merchandising, or surgery) Dissimilarity
score (Dj=1,2) for Dj=1,2 = √(∑ di2 ) = √(d12+d22+ d32+d42+d52)
2. The intensity of demand for each skill in a given occupation was occupations 1, 2:
then evaluated.
• This process is repeated for all 195,000 occupation
• The intensity of a skill i (where i = 1st, 2nd, …, nth skill) for a pairs, generating a dissimilarity matrix for all
given occupation j (where j = 1st, 2nd, …, 625th occupation) is occupations:
defined as follows:

Occupation: Occp. 1 Occp. 2 Occp. 3 … Occp. 625

Intensity i, j =
Occp. 1 Dj=1,1 (= 0) Dj=1,1 Dj=1,3 … Dj=1,625
(Total mentions of skill i by job ads in occupation j) /
(Total job ads in occupation j) Occp. 2 Dj=2,1 Dj=2,2 (= 0) Dj=2,3 … Dj=2,625

Occp. 3 Dj=3,1 Dj=3,2 Dj=3,3 (= 0) … Dj=3,625

… … … … … …
3. A dissimilarity score was then constructed between each pair
of occupations, based on the intensity of skill mentions for each Occp. 625 Dj=625,1 Dj=625,2 Dj=625,3 … Dj=625,625 (= 0)

occupation.
4. The k-means clustering algorithm was then applied to
• Skill intensities for all 625 occupations were compared occupation using the skill intensity dissimilarity scores:
against each other – a total of 195,000 pairwise occupation
• The number of sub-clusters, k, was specified as k = 20
skill comparisons
• A balance was required between specifying too many vs. too
• For each occupation within a pair, the total demand for all
few clusters:
skills was analysed to determine the intensity of that entire
set of skills (as per above equation) • If specifying too few sub-clusters, the algorithm will
group occupations that are relatively close but in
• For each skill in an occupation pair, the squared ‘distance’
reality are quite distinct
(di2) between the two occupations in the intensity of demand
for that skill was then calculated. • If specifying too many sub-clusters, then the final
clusters depend too heavily on human judgment to be
By way of illustration, for a given pair of occupations j = 1, 2 and a
grouped together
total set of 5 skills
• By starting with a larger set of distinctive sub-clusters,
i = 1, 2, …, 5:
and working backwards to 6-8 clusters, we can arrive
d12 = Squared ‘distance’ for Skill 1 = (Intensity1,j=1 – Intensity1,j=2)2 at a sensible set of final clusters

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• After specifying k = 20, the algorithm partitions the 625 • The first filter tests for whether employment grew over
occupations into 20 sub-clusters such that the sum of the last 5 years (i.e. between 2010 and 2015). This will
the squared distances between the centroid (the centre include some occupations where job growth is modest
of a sub-cluster) and everything within the sub-cluster is and has been outpaced by broader labour force growth or
minimised population growth;

• The centroid is identified by an iterative process/ • However, by excluding roles in a contraction phase this
algorithm method aims to capture occupations that will continue to
provide a meaningful level of job openings (and therefore
5. This generated 20 sub-clusters: meaningful opportunity for young Australians);

• 4 sub-clusters (containing only 21 occupations) were • The historical period of 2010 to 2015 was selected due to its
eliminated due to insufficient size; recency; overall similarity in employment rates in 2010 and
2015; and avoiding distortionary trends that would emerge
• 16 sub-clusters (containing 604 occupations) remained,
if more recent data was used (e.g. starting from the peak
providing a whole-of-economy breadth
of the mining boom around 2012/13) or older data was
6. The 16 remaining sub-clusters were then manually sorted into used (e.g. starting in the GFC of 2008/09, or in the economic
the final set of clusters boom preceding it)

• ‘Adjacent’ sub-clusters, i.e. those with similar skill 3. The second filter tests for whether an occupation’s
requirements, were merged vulnerability to automation over the medium-to-long-term is too
high.
• 7 distinct final clusters were found and termed ‘job clusters’
• Automation risk data obtained from NICTA developed for
7. Top enterprise & technical skills in a job cluster were CEDA (2015) report “Australia’s Future Workforce” Chapter 1.4
determined as follows:
• Consistent with the CEDA report, this filter used the criterion
• Top skills for each occupation were generated and ranked that a probability of being impacted by automation over the
using skill intensity data (calculated earlier – see above), i.e. next 10-15 years at 70% or more is ‘high’.
the fraction of job ads in the occupation that referred to a
given skill; • Approximately 43% of all occupations classified have a
risk of being impacted by automation that exceeds this
• Within each job cluster, the proportion of occupations for threshold
which a given skill was among the top-20 demanded in job
ads was calculated; • Vulnerability is modelled on the presence of difficult-
to-automate job characteristics such as creativity,
• Top skills for a job cluster were then generated and ranked manual dexterity, or persuasion skills
using this proportion of occupations within the job cluster
where the skill was among the top-20 demanded. 4. Note that for both filters, information is only specific up to the
4-digit level. Thus, we are using 4-digit employment growth and
A.3 Detailed Methodology – Developing occupations automation risks to classify 6-digit occupations.
of the future
• There are 474 different 4-digit occupation unit groups,
1. To arrive at Occupations of the Future, two broad filters were compared to 1352 occupations at the 6-digit level
applied to a whole-of-economy list of occupations: employment
• This means that, on average, there are approximately 2.85
growth and susceptibility to automation over the medium-to-
occupations at the 6-digit level within a 4-digit occupation
long-term. This report seeks to avoid playing the role of futurist;
unit group
it does not predict the state of the economy or technology
over the very long-term. While such variables are relevant • While the accuracy of employment growth data or
to employment outcomes over the longer-run, this report automation risk data is limited to the 4-digit level, this
recognises that attempts to predict different future universes remains a strong proxy for 6-digit occupations given that:
belong to the realm of speculation rather than analysis.
• The 474 occupation unit groups (4-digit level) separates
2. Capturing a breadth of occupations with reasonably strong occupations into highly specific, distinctive groupings;
future prospects was an important objective of this report’s
analysis. In pursuit of that objective, the deliberate choice was • Occupations (6-digit level) within each of these unit
made to set filters at only moderate thresholds. The report groups are very close to one another in terms of skills
thereby avoids focusing on a narrow set of the fastest-growing required and nature of the role;
jobs or skills (e.g. Nesta (2016)), or only on jobs that are
invulnerable to any impact from automation. • Due to the screening criteria (at least 50 job ads
over 24 months), the 625 occupations (6-digit level)
represent the bulk of the weight of the 4-digit
occupations

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A.5 Detailed Methodology – Portability of • If these differences were all positive, then it means that
occupations occupation i can subsume occupation j, since all skills
in occupation j are demanded with greater intensity in
1. To construct the portability measure, the following analysis occupation i
was conducted for every possible pair of occupations, assessed
in both directions (390,000 calculations). • This is never the case, and for this reason a less
stringent rule is used to determine portability
• To assess the portability of an occupation i, let any given
pair be denoted as occupations i and j 3. A rule to define ‘portability’ from any occupation i into any
other occupation j was developed.
• A list of all unique skills appearing in job ads for either of the
two occupations is then constructed • The portability of occupation i is defined as having no skill
where the difference in skill intensity between occupations i
• Every occupation has a skill ‘intensity’ for each unique and j is less (more negative) than -0.15
skill, i.e. the fraction of job ads within that occupation
which demand the skill • If even one skill has an intensity difference which is less
(more negative) than -0.15 between occupations i and
• For skills that do not appear in either occupation, the j, then occupation i is not considered ‘portable’ into j
‘intensity’ of the skill is 0
4. The -0.15 cut-off has interesting implications for any two
2. Similarity in intensity of demand for a given skill x is assessed occupations i, j whose skillsets are deemed to be ‘portable’ with
by subtracting occupation j’s intensity of skill x from occupation one another.
i’s.
• The cut-off implies that if skill x is demanded by all (100%)
• This calculation is then performed between all occupations of the jobs in occupation j, an individual has at least an 85%
for all skills. chance of acquiring that skill working in occupation i;

• If skill x is demanded more frequently by jobs in • If skill x appears in half (50%) of the jobs in occupation
occupation i than in occupation j, then this difference j, then an individual still has at least a 35% chance of
will be positive picking it up working in occupation i

• If skill x appears more frequently in jobs in occupation

j than in occupation i, then the difference will be
negative

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fya.org.au 27
Foundation for Young Australians
21-27 Somerset Place, Melbourne VIC 3000
T: 03 9670 5436 E: [email protected]
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/likeFYA @fya_org @fya_org

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