Concerns not all students are being prepared for a modern workforce

ABC NEWS (Australia)

As we become more reliant on artificial intelligence, there are concerns current students may not be adequately prepared for the evolving job prospects.

Transcript

00:00What do you want to be when you grow up?

00:05It's a question young people are asked on repeat.

00:09I'm going to continue through with university and then become a lawyer.

00:13I have a desire to do nursing.

00:16It's always been good with my hands. I figured, why not be an electrician?

00:19I kind of wanted to follow in the footsteps of my mum, so she was an apprentice chef.

00:23These students are getting insights into the world of work in the showroom of a building company.

00:30It's good for them to get a bit of hands-on experience and talk to the people face-to-face.

00:35The Smith family has organised career taster days like this one for 60 schools around Australia.

00:42All the evidence suggests that if young people have those experiences while they're at school,

00:46it helps them make a great transition into employment

00:49and it's more likely they'll be in employment over a longer period of time.

00:53But there are concerns not all schools have strong career programs.

00:58So it's very much a hit and miss situation.

01:01And what we really need to see is a much more centralised approach to career education

01:06so every child gets to know what the opportunities are.

01:10And how those employment opportunities are changing.

01:14We've seen a massive rise in disruption to working life through technology such as artificial intelligence

01:21through to a massive growth in the human care industries.

01:26But careers education is not keeping pace with those changes.

01:30It's predicted an ageing population will lead to continued growth in the health sector,

01:35along with scientific and technical services, construction and education.

01:41Jobs in mining and agriculture are expected to increase at a slower rate.

01:46And while new roles will be created in data and technology,

01:50half of Australian students aren't proficient in ICT.

01:55We need them to be prepared across a range of areas of interest.

01:59And at the same time keeping an eye on the future.

02:02Before I started doing these and talking to people, I didn't even know what I wanted to be.

02:07I figured I'd just work in fast food for the rest of my life because I couldn't do anything book smart.

02:11So going and doing these has really actually helped me out.

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