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What do you want to be when you grow up?
It’s a question young people get asked on repeat.
Fifteen-year-old Lucas is thinking about becoming an electrician.
“I’ve never been very book-smart in school, it’s just how my life’s gone so I wanted to do something with my hands,” he said.
Mikaela, 15, wants to be a lawyer.
“I’ve always wanted to make the world a better place and I found that was the best way to try and do it,” she said.
Lucas (left) and Mikaela (right) both have big aspirations for their future. (ABC News: Jordan Young)
These students along with their classmates are taking part in a career taster day at a home-building company in Hobart.
Their school is one of 60 across the country taking part in the Growing Careers Project, organised by The Smith Family.
The project gives students hands-on experience in fields they’re interested in, as well as the chance to talk to people in the industry.
The Smith Family are a non-for-profit charity helping Australian children participate in society by supporting them through their education. (ABC News: Jordan Young)
“All the evidence suggests that if young people have those [workplace] experiences while they are at school, it helps them make a great transition into employment and it’s more likely they’ll be in employment over a longer period of time,” said The Smith Family’s chief executive Doug Taylor.
“We believe in the unlimited potential of all young people”
Doug Taylor says kids need more workplace experiences. (Supplied: The Smith Family)
Consistency is key
When it comes to the education system more broadly, there are concerns that career education programs vary greatly between schools and across the country.
“I really don’t think that our education system has been very strong with their career education programs,” demographer Lisa Denny said.
“It’s very much been hit and miss.”
Dr Denny said there needed to be a more centralised approach to career education.
“Every child [needs] to know what the opportunities are and they’re not narrowed into a particular area of interest by a region or by a school or by a particular classroom teacher,” Dr Denny said.
Dr Lisa Denny uses demographic data to note intergenerational trends. (ABC News: Aneeta Bhole)
Professor Lucas Walsh, an expert in education policy at Monash University, believes careers education should be an integral part of the curriculum.
“There’s an old saying in careers education that you can’t be what you can’t see, so exposing young people to different pathways, both in study, vocational education and training, as well as different types of jobs throughout their schooling, is shown to be beneficial in choosing the right career path,” he said.
Profesor Walsh believes exposure to a variety of pathways is key to helping children choose the path that is right for them. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
The role of schools in educating young people about work is particularly important in parts of the country where intergenerational unemployment is high.
“If they’re not growing up and seeing their parents or their carers go to work every day or some days a week, then they’re not really connected with understanding what the purpose of education is,” Dr Denny said.
“Therefore, schools play a specific role in opening those young people’s minds as to what schooling provides them and what opportunities there will be,” she said.
“We need to disrupt this intergenerational poverty and disadvantage.”
Jobs of the future
Job opportunities of the future are changing.
But Professor Walsh is worried school career education isn’t keeping pace with the changing nature of work.
“International research of a significant scale shows us that careers education still tends to be focused on 10 occupational fields — so think a lawyer, a doctor and so forth,” Professor Walsh said.
“Whereas in the 20th century, we’ve seen a massive rise in disruption to working life through technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), through to a massive growth in the human care industries.”
Profesor Walsh is also the director of the Monash Centre for Youth Policy & Education Practice (CYPEP). (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
An aging population means the health sector is predicted to be the biggest job growth sector for the next 10 years.
Jobs in agriculture and mining are expected to increase at a much slower rate.
And while there are fears AI and automation will result in job losses, it is also likely to lead to job creation.
A recent report by Jobs and Skills Australia has shown a big increase in the number of online job ads for AI Engineers.
It also highlighted a number of emerging roles in the fields of data and technology, including jobs like cloud developer or automation engineer.
Job availability in industries like AI and engineering is expected to rise. (ABC News: Daniel Ziffer)
But with so many jobs relying on computing skills, there are concerns schools aren’t delivering when it comes to Information and Communications Technology education (ICT).
The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) figures show that just 45.9 per cent of Australian students are at or above the proficient standard in ICT literacy Key Performance Measures (KPMs) for schooling in Australia
Mr Taylor described the figure as “deeply concerning”.
Mr Taylor is concerned that students are not returning the results they’ll need to get into emerging industries like tech. (Supplied)
The National Skills Commission predicts nine out of 10 new jobs created in the next five years will require a post-secondary school qualification.
“So it’s really important that young people complete school, go on and do further studies that sets them up for a great future where new work opportunities require different type of education, but can really sustain their employment over time,” Mr Taylor said.
Australia’s Minister for Education, Jason Clare, said nationwide funding was needed to support students in public schools to make that transition into post-school life.
Mr Clare said Australia’s education system could be “better and fairer”. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
“Our education system does a good job preparing young Australians for work or for uni and TAFE, but it can be better and fairer,” he said.
“It’s why I have struck deals with Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and the ACT to invest more funding in our public schools and have tied that funding to reforms to help students finish school and then go on to work or further study.
“I want to do the same with the other states.”
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