University Advancement Office Alumni and Friends

The Labour Market - Part Two

Contents

Introduction

Knowing about the current labour market and how it is evolving will help you to explore your employment options. Developing an awareness of employment trends and the opportunities or risks associated with them will add to the picture. This type of research can also assist in determining the type of positions that are likely to capitalise on your strengths, and therefore give you a competitive advantage when seeking work or progressing your career. In career planning, researching the labour market is only one part of the process. For information about other components, please refer to the previous articles in this series.

If you are looking to start your own business/consultancy some of the issues raised here may also be of benefit.

What we already know

In the previous article The Labour Market Part One, we saw that in recent times the general labour market had grown and unemployment had declined. A closer look shows that those in more highly skilled occupations (professional and trade occupations) were less likely to be unemployed than those in lower skilled occupations. There had also been an increase in part-time employment. Indeed, according to Marcus Letcher, in the six years from 1990, Australia created only 55,000 full-time jobs and 408,000 part-time jobs (seek.com.au, October, 2004).

It was also noted that whilst graduates were more likely to be employed and less likely to be unemployed than non-graduates, their employment prospects levelled off in 2003 (the most recent data available from the Graduate Careers Council of Australia). Nonetheless, there was an increase of those entering both professional and clerical/services/sales occupations. Those entering the lower skilled occupations probably reflected the fact that not all graduates were making a transition to professional occupations, especially in the short term. Tied in with this trend is the increase of those continuing with further full-time study.

What are the longer-term predictions?

The labour market is dynamic, being affected by economic (local and international), educational, demographic and technological trends and changes -making it somewhat difficult to predict. Unspecified factors, such as possible droughts and major mineral discoveries can also have an impact. But there are employment trends to be aware of when first entering post-university employment or if making job or career changes down the track. Long term demographic trends such as an increase in part-time work, the ageing of the workforce and an increase in women in the paid workforce are set to continue (seek.com.au, October, 2004; Australia's Workforce, 2005: Jobs for the Future).

It is expected that employment will grow across most industries, but will occur more strongly in service sector industries. These include finance, health, personal services, retail and accommodation and restaurant industries. It is expected that employment will continue to grow slowly or decline in manufacturing industries. Other industries such as electricity, gas, water and transport are also projected to increase labour productivity (seek.com.au, October, 2004; Australia's Workforce, 2005: Jobs for the Future).

More specifically, the Higher Education at the Crossroads (2003) investigations undertaken by DEST suggested strong growth in the areas of accounting, financing, human resources, law, architecture, computing and information technology, science, health sciences, marketing, social welfare, nursing and teaching.

It is also projected that the employment destinations of many workers holding qualifications, particularly those in some fields of study delivered by the higher education sector, will widen over the next decade. This is a consequence of the greater increase in the number of workers with such qualifications compared with the growth of their traditional employment destinations (Australia's Workforce, 2005: Jobs for the Future).

What are the short-term needs?

Skills currently in demand include IT, construction, accountancy and auditing, whilst shortages have also been identified in mining engineers, selected computing (especially corporate IT/business analysts, internet architects, web design managers), health and teaching professionals, registered nurse specialisations and certain trades (seek.com.au, October, 2004).

The Hudson Report focuses on permanent employment expectations over the short-term, in this case October-December 2004. Over five times as many employers have indicated that they intend to increase their permanent staffing levels compared to those who have indicated a decrease.

The outlook across all industries surveyed is positive for the coming three months. For the second consecutive quarter, the Telecommunications industry (44%) recorded the highest level of optimism, followed by the Professional Services (42.7%) and Information Technology (40%) industries. Small, medium sized and large organisations all recorded an optimistic employment outlook for the coming three months although the extent of their optimism varies.

What do you need to know about the labour market?

At a broad level it is important to know the challenges and constraints affecting particular industries and their long-term viability. Emerging industries may offer exciting opportunities to be at the forefront of new research, technology, products or services but there may be a risk associated with their sustainability. Older industries may offer established credentials or be looking at new ways to survive.

Employment sectors can have both similarities and differences. For example, the government sector has a range of different occupations in comparison with the private sector but it also has a number of similar occupations. Although each of these sectors may have some differences in the terms and conditions of employment they offer there is probably greater similarity in the type of performance measures that they both now use than in the past. Employment in similar occupations in large corporations in comparison with small businesses/consultancies may have a different level of responsibility, a different budget to work with, a different approach to the work, a different type or size of client base and a difference in the variety or depth of tasks.

At an organisational level it is important to know about a range of factors to ascertain how an organisation is positioned as well as your compatibility with it (seek.com.au, October, 2004). These may be to do with:

It is also important to know about the occupational area in which you would like to progress or are contemplating a move to (seek.com.au, October, 2004) . For instance:

These aspects of an industry, work sector, organisation and occupational area are often best discovered before you accept an offer of employment rather than afterwards.

What do you need to know about employers?

[cartoon of a new employee]Employers will have expectations about their employees in terms of work performance, the way in which they approach their work, and how they relate to others to ensure they are well suited for their role, have potential for further development, will be committed to the organisation and achieve job satisfaction (which contributes to the retention rate).

A number of the characteristics that may be expected of you include: self-directed, initiative, achievement oriented, client focussed, people skills, adaptable, innovative, enthusiastic, logical, strategic/ able to make connections, analytical but quick thinking, decisive, entrepreneurial, articulate, collaborative/ consultative, highly organised, resilient, politically astute/ emotionally intelligent, leadership potential, etc.

Some of these characteristics may already be assessed as part of your performance appraisal for your current role. This means that employers will look to their range of criteria in assessing your suitability for the role they are seeking to fill. This will include your previous experience, what you know and how up to date you are, how well you are thought of in the field or in your current job, how well connected you are, how well you come across, what you can bring to the organisation, how you can add value, what training you will need or whether you can hit the ground running in order to fill the existing gap.

Many employers are likely to hire a person who has previous experience in the field rather than someone who doesn't (unless they want someone with a completely new perspective). This strategy helps to reduce the risk associated with the hiring decision. In determining your suitability for a position you will need to think about how your employment history may be viewed in terms of whether you have worked in similar or different roles and organisations (either could be preferable depending on the employer's needs), whether your experience will be seen as relevant or limited, whether you will be assessed as being over/under experienced or over/under qualified, whether you have moved around too much or too little, and whether there is some kind of career pattern or skills development that is evident and can be shown to be of benefit.

What do you need to do?

Understand that although it is very tempting to take a heuristic approach to career planning, such an approach may be unreliable. Ultimately, it is probably going to be more useful if you do your research on the labour market to develop an understanding of the options available to you and how an employer is likely to view you as a potential candidate. Combining this with an acknowledgement of your capabilities, what you are temperamentally suited to, what you want from work, the goals you wish to achieve and work/life considerations will help to complete the picture.

[cartoon of a new employee]Having a flexible approach to work, taking responsibility for your own career progression (whatever this means for you) and ensuring that you remain employable are important elements of success.

In order to make the transition to a new position or occupation, the extent to which you do your research and, if necessary, gain appropriate experience or training to upgrade your skills will potentially be a valuable investment. You may find that it is easier to transfer to a similar position in another industry before you change your career path or you may decide to accept a lower level position in a new field to gain experience and insight. You may decide to remain in the same organisation to progress your career or move laterally. You may realise that you have the transferable skills to undertake a management role in a different field. Talking to a mentor who is in the area you wish to explore may lead you to discover that you're not actually suited to the work. Working with a coach can help you to learn how to deal with the type of issues that relate to the occupation you wish to enter.

It will be up to you to convince a potential employer that you are a good candidate for the job. Demonstrating that you have the skills, a fresh perspective, enthusiasm and a determination to succeed play an important part. Ensure that you don't talk yourself out of a job by not knowing enough or making inaccurate assumptions about the industry, the organisation or the position.

References

Careers & Employment, (2004), The University of Melbourne, Wise Up For Work

Department of Education, Science and Training, (1995), Australia's Workforce, 2005: Jobs for the Future

Department of Education, Science and Training, (2003), Higher Education at the Crossroads, Birrell and Rapson

Graduate Careers Council of Australia, (2004), 2003 Graduate Destination Survey

Hudson Global Resources & Human Capital Solutions, (2004), The Hudson Report, October-December, 2004

seek.com.au, (2004) The Future of Work

seek.com.au, (2004), Where the Jobs Are, Brown, S.

seek.com.au, (2004), Choose the Right Employer, Simons, S.


Toni Waugh, Employment Services Manager
Careers & Employment
© The University of Melbourne 2004
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