ROLE UP FOR A CHANGE 0F PACE

New jobs are available and not all of them require years of study. Melanie Burgess reports.

THE job market has taken a hit since the COVID-19 outbreak but tens of thousands of roles are still available – and most do not require a university degree.

A short course, the right attitude or a few self-taught skills may be all that is needed to get a foot in the door of a new career.

Job site Adzuna reveals the industries currently advertising the most roles are healthcare and nursing (about 8830 job ads), trades and construction (5710) and the information technology sector (3400).

Although nurses and other health professionals typically require a university qualification, Adzuna country manager for Australia and New Zealand Tejas Deshpande says many other available roles do not.

“We have been heavily working with Defence Force recruitment and they are looking at aircraft technicians and marine technicians, who require just a basic Year 10 or 12 qualification (to begin an apprenticeship),” he says.

“There are a lot of home-care workers that might only require a working with children check or basic qualification in that area.

“In IT, if you want to be an ethical hacker, there is no degree as such.”

Training organisation Generation Australia runs short courses depending on demand, and currently offers courses in just two areas – disability support and web development.

Upon completion, students are guaranteed a job interview with an employer in the field.

Generation Australia chief operating officer Malcolm Kinns says the company chose to develop these two particular programs as research and consultation with employers found workers would be in demand both now and after the pandemichad passed.

“They are recession-proof and not going to be affected by things like digital transformation and automation,” he says.

“They are careers that will exist well into the future.

“Particularly in the current climate when people are reskilling, they should know they don’t need to spend four years or even one year reskilling.

“There are a number of roles where people can come in and build a career.”

Recruitment firm Randstad has similarly partnered with veteran education and employment organisation WithYouWithMe to help jobseekers negatively affected by the COVID-19 economic downturn to kickstart a new career in the technology sector.

Previously only available to veterans, now all jobseekers have been given access to the digital training courses covering the IT, cyber, robotics and data analytics topic.

Randstad Queensland director Kerry McQuillan says, at a national level, she has seen rising employment in government services, contact centres, construction, and transport and logistics – and she expects an increase in sales, business development, cybersecurity and data analytics soon.

“You don’t necessarily need to have a uni degree to move into (cybersecurity and data analytics) types of roles, even though sometimes the perception is you do,” she says.

“In a sales role, you don’t need a university degree.”