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services might be in luck, with IBISWorld
predicting the specialist medical services
industry will grow.
McGregor said it’s expected to become
increasingly important as the population
continues to age over the next five years.
“Industry demand is also likely to grow
due to rising household disposable income.
With more money to spend on specialist
consultations, consumer demand for
specialist services is expected to increase.”
GP MEDICAL SERVICES
The jobs of
tomorrow
The growing industries
looking for new blood.
By Dallas Bastian
W
hat jobs will be on offer to
students graduating high school
this year?
That’s the question IBISWorld hoped to
answer through research on the industries
set to add the most new jobs to the
Australian economy. The company looked at
a combination of total employment number
increases and annualised growth rates over
the next five years.
So, under that metric, which areas will
need plenty of new blood?
IBISWorld senior industry analyst Will
McGregor said a large driver of future
demand for labour is ever-advancing
technological capabilities and platforms.
“There is a mutually beneficial relationship
between big data, cloud computing, artificial
intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT),”
McGregor said.
“Big data capabilities are needed to
process the influx of data from IoT and ever-
expanding company level data recording.
Cloud computing enables this data to be
stored on demand rather than manually
adding more servers.
“Artificial intelligence requires all of these
technologies to exist before it is feasible.”
He said these changes will require firms to
hire specialists in certain fields of computer
science, data analytics and IT security.
IBISWorld put forward the five industries
that will require the most new workers.
INTERNET PUBLISHING
AND BROADCASTING
The team said internet publishing and
broadcasting industry employment is
expected to increase by an annualised
8.2 per cent over the next five years, more
than any other field. This is being fed by
boosts to internet connectivity and speeds,
and growth in online news and advertising.
McGregor said: “Skilled software engineers
are needed to develop and maintain website
databases, mobile applications, cybersecurity
implementations and a range of other tasks
necessary to ensure that online services
run smoothly.”
DATA STORAGE SERVICES
Engineers, information technology specialists
and technical support personnel are
expected to be in demand thanks to the
expected growth of the data storage services
industry over the next five years.
McGregor said the completion of the
National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout
helps with this.
“The industry will require more skilled
employees to meet rising demand for
cloud computing, IoT and machine learning
solutions. As a result, industry employment is
expected to increase at an annualised 5.7 per
cent over the next five years.”
SPECIALIST MEDICAL SERVICES
Students interested in dermatology,
neurology, gynaecology and paediatric
IBISWorld said Australia’s ageing population
is also forecast to help boost demand for
general practitioners (GPs).
“Older Australians drive demand for GP
services because they typically require more
prescription medications, general health
checkups and regular consultations to
address age-related illnesses,” McGregor said.
“In addition, the freeze on Medicare rebates
has been lifted with the 2017–18 Budget,
supporting anticipated growth in patient
enquiries and industry revenue over the
next five years.”
The ageing population has fuelled other
workforce predictions. A CSIRO report, titled
Tomorrow’s Digitally Enabled Workforce and
released in 2016, held that service industries
such as healthcare and professional services
have shown strong growth.
At the time, CSIRO economist Dr Andrew
Reeson said aged care is “probably the single
fastest-growing occupation in Australia
in recent years” and added that’s likely to
continue. “There are big opportunities
there, particularly because aged care is so
distributed around the country.”
McGregor said that although the aged care
residential services industry was not included
on the list due to its slower five-year growth
rate compared with other industries, it is still
expected to continue to be a large hirer over
the next five years.
MULTI-UNIT APARTMENT AND
TOWNHOUSE CONSTRUCTION
Quelling potential concerns over automation
in the industry due to technology like large-
scale 3D printing, IBISWorld said multi-unit
apartment and townhouse construction will
increase over the next five years.
“Skilled construction specialists will
continue to perform most industry tasks,”
McGregor said. “As Australia’s population
continues to expand and urbanisation
continues to increase, demand for large-
scale multi-story apartment complexes is
forecast to grow. This will continue fuelling
demand for labour from this industry.” ■
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