January 21, 2021

Nick Gibbs
(Australian Associated Press)

Workers looking for job security in 2021 should consider Australia’s “largest and fastest growing” industry, broadly known as the care economy.

As well as frontline healthcare, fields such as social work, counselling and child and aged care are tipped to be in demand this year, LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise report says.

The special edition of the emerging jobs report compares the roles experiencing the highest growth between April and October 2020 against the same period the year before.

With governments favouring stimulus measures centred on infrastructure, the report predicts careers in construction will have a solid foundation.

Site managers, estimators and heavy equipment operators are listed as among those employees likely to be sought after.

The report notes Australia’s property sector remained “remarkably upbeat” during last year’s downturn and rates mortgage brokers and real estate agents as having good prospects.

While traditional open homes were off the table during lockdowns, the disconnection from traditional offices means work no longer dictates where people live.

It’s still unclear which of the changes that made work possible during the pandemic will be permanent, and such uncertainty means there is demand for help by individuals making big life choices.

Qualifications likely to be required in the future include business and wellness coaching, personal development and mentoring.

E-commerce, social media management, cyber security and web development are also likely to remain good bets for career longevity.

The report recommends acquiring transferable skills desirable across a range of growth areas.

“Roles across construction, social media, marketing and technology don’t necessarily require direct experience or four-year degrees, meaning opportunities are open to a wide variety of backgrounds,” the report states.

Hospitality, tourism and the education of international students suffered “sector-wide” impact as businesses responded to the chief demand of managing the pandemic.

While there will always be demand for food and drink, when international travel will resume is among the biggest unknowns.

Of LinkedIn members surveyed during the pandemic (April – August), around 60 per cent of respondents were passive or closed to new jobs.

This figure has decreased since early September and is now at about half of the people surveyed, according to LinkedIn’s workforce confidence index.

Those most confident about their ability to progress are employed in business development and administration roles.

Human resources, finance, operations and media and communications employees are the least confident they’ll be making career progression this year, with little movement from April.