A large analysis of jobs data shows young Australians are not developing the enterprise skills employers are looking for.
Key Points:
- 4.2 million job ads analysed
- Demand for digital skills up 212 per cent
- Critical thinking skills demand up 150 per cent
- Call to teach enterprise skills in primary school
The analysis commissioned by the Foundation for Young Australians looked at 4.2 million job advertisements from 2012 to 2015, to identify the skills most in demand in junior positions.
The demand for so-called enterprise skills, such as digital literacy and presentation abilities, was just as high as the technical skills relevant to specific jobs, the data showed.
Over the three-year period, the job ads showed demand for critical thinking skills increased by more than 150 per cent, creativity went up 65 per cent and presentation skills went up 25 per cent.
There was a massive increase of 212 per cent in demand for digital literacy skills.
The Foundation for Young Australians said the research highlighted the importance of developing enterprise skills, as they were what employers were looking for.
The organisation’s chief executive officer, Jane Owen, said employers value skills such as digital and financial literacy, regardless of whether they are hiring a dentist or a personal assistant.
“For the first time we’ve got data that shows what employers are looking for from the next generation of young people,” Ms Owen said.
“Alongside technical skills they’re wanting this very broad skill set that we describe as enterprise.
“Across almost every profession, no matter what it was and no matter what the technical skill was, employers were privileging these skills.
“We used to call them soft skills but now they clearly are core to the marketplace in Australia and we suspect globally around what employers need.”
New work order has already arrived
The report builds on earlier research looking at how prepared young Australians were for the future job market, citing data that they said fell short of the mark.
According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, a third of students under the age of 15 showed poor levels of financial literacy and problem-solving, while a quarter were not proficient in digital skills.
Ms Owen said proving that employers valued enterprise skills highlighted the need to invest in them.
She said change had long been anticipated in the workforce, but this analysis showed it had already happened.
“I guess what this report says is that the new work order is here,” Ms Owen said.
“We fully expected that we were in transition and there’s much conversation about the future of work around the world.
“But this report absolutely clearly says that we’re here, and more importantly gives us a clear mandate to accelerate the teaching of these skills and to understand that they’re being privileged in the workplace.”
School students should be taught how to be enterprising
The Foundation for Young Australians called on state and federal governments to accelerate training in enterprise skills.
“We almost need to understand that these skills need to be in the DNA of every single student,” Ms Owen said.
“If we were to think about what that means, you’ve got to teach enterprising skills early and often throughout primary school and high school.
“It also means that we need to talk to parents really quickly and comprehensively about what the future of work looks like [and] we need to think about teaching and how teaching needs to change to embed these skills.
“This report is a clear mandate to embed and accelerate enterprise skills in education and learning across all systems in Australia.”
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-20/high-demand-for-enterprise-skills-young-job-seekers/7339192
YOUNG CHRISTIAN WORKERS 