Knowing where the job market is heading is always tough, especially when you are just starting out in your career and you want to set yourself up in a sustainable occupation for the future.
This is especially true if you are considering further studies, like an apprenticeship, which requires years of practice in order to be qualified.
Fortunately, a recent study by IBISWorld gives some predictions about the direction the Australian job market is heading in.
The report tracked the predicted growth across a number of industries, forecasting their annual growth rates across the next five years. IBISWorld identified ten which are set to rapid growth, along with a few which will likely experience declines in the future.
Top of the list was the oil and gas industry, which was the only area expected to see double-digit growth annually for the next five years. Employment in the oil and gas industry is expected to grow by yearly rate of 11.3 per cent, making it the fastest-growing sector in the survey.
Thanks to this growth, employment in the sector is predicted to increase from an estimated 26,000 positions this year to 45,000 by 2019.
While direct employment in the oil and gas sector is set to see the greatest increases, related areas also cracked the top ten. In particular, employment in mining support services is expecting greater expansion, coming in with the third-highest growth rate.
Mining support services will increase from an estimated 12,000 employees this year to 17,000 by 2019, an annual growth rate of 7.3 per cent.
With strong career prospects in the oil and gas and mining-support sectors, it might be worth considering an apprenticeship which is useful for these industries, in an area like welding. Thanks to an increasing number of projects, these skills will continue to be in high demand.
Other areas which are set to grow include online shopping, which came in second place, and preschool education which will grow at a slightly lower rate than mining support services. Accommodation for the aged and online education were both also expected to grow in coming years.
While these industries are recording very high employment growth, there are also a few which are rapidly declining. Job prospects are very low in areas like publishing, DVD hire stores and software retailing. All of these sectors have lost out to the growth of online services, resulting in much fewer opportunities.
