Business big loser

GOLD Coast tertiary students are switching in droves to architecture and industrial design, occupational therapy and dentistry.

And the big loser is business.

Research by Study Gold Coast has found the number of students graduating with a degree in architecture and industrial design has spiked 50 per cent in the past three years. Those chasing occupational therapy qualifications increased 38 per cent and dentistry 36 per cent.

In niche fields, pathology graduates risen 45 per cent.

Despite the significant increases, the number of students graduating university or TAFE on the Coast has risen only four per cent, from 5250 in 2014 to 5450 in 2017.

Researcher Andrew Dempster found students were steering away from business degrees and moving into STEM subjects.

The number of people studying business on the Coast dropped by 25 per cent.

“It was found there has speech have been more of a focus on STEM subjects … from engineering, science and nursing and health subjects,” he said.

“The strongest growth has been in architecture and industrial design.”

Another Study Gold Coast researcher Bent Hall found the number of employment opportunities was on the rise.

“By 2022, employment growth for the Gold Coast is being projected to increase by 33,776 (jobs) to 344,776,” he said. “Almost 60 per cent of all new jobs are projected to be in four industries.”

There is an expected 1.1 million people living on the Gold Coast by 2050, and research has found that the average person will need to learn to multitask in simple jobs.

More jobs are set to be created in healthcare and social assistance (10,258), professional, scientific and technical services (3373), retail (3168), and accommodation and food services (2992). The study was conducted in the three years to 2017, with information from Griffith University, Southern Cross University, Bond University and TAFE Queensland based on the Gold Coast.