From understanding the industries that are expanding to the changing needs of the millennial and Gen Z workforce, here is how to prepare for the work year ahead.
Australian government labour data shows that just over half of employers looking to fill positions found it difficult to do so in October. The most common reason cited was a lack of suitable candidates. From the prospective employee’s perspective, ‘undesirable working conditions’ were listed as the greatest concern.
Australian employment website SEEK says there is tightness in the labour market, but only just. The company reveals its list of the five trends that will shape work in the year ahead.
1. The industries that are growing
If you are a part of the care economy, an IT professional, or a truck driver, you are going to see continued growth in 2025.
“The number of older Australians continues to grow, alongside an increasing awareness of mental health and behavioural conditions- driving an ongoing demand for care workers. This is unlikely to end anytime soon,” says Blair Chapman, SEEK’s senior economist.
Registered nurses, aged and disabled carers and child carers will be in hot demand. 2025 will also bring strong demand in Information & Communication Technology, Transport & Logistics, Retail & Hospitality.
“Employment for programmers and data scientists is likely to continue growing quickly as businesses look to keep up with the increasing use of AI by their employees, clients and competitors,” says Chapman.
Online shopping is also driving growth in the digital arena.
“The use of online delivery services will continue to drive demand for workers in the logistics sector, so it is likely that demand for truck drivers and warehouse staff like store persons and forklift drivers will remain elevated in 2025.”
Keep an eye on: “A stabilisation of job ad volumes in 2025. As a leading indicator, ad volumes should stabilise ahead of the RBA’s expected leveling off of the unemployment rate in mid to late 2025.”
2. Using AI to give your résumé a glow-up
Refining your resume with AI is becoming commonplace.
“SEEK data shows that the number of AI-generated resumes submitted to the platform grew from 10% in July 2023 to 25% in June 2024, and around half of all resumes are expected to be created with the support of AI in the coming months. But if used responsibly, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” says Grant Wright, a SEEK AI executive.
Wright cautions job seekers not to lean too heavily on AI, however.
“When used appropriately, AI can enhance resumes and job applications by refining ideas and helping candidates showcase their best selves. But it’s important that job seekers maintain control over their content and ensure it remains true to who they are. Relying too heavily on AI risks losing personal touch, making it harder to stand out and challenging for employers to trust the authenticity of the information provided,” says Wright.
Keep an eye on: “AI’s ability to understand unstructured text, image, video and voice content will enable new interaction modes and experiences that help candidates and hirers better express what they are looking for.”
3. Ability to select better candidates
Just as artificial intelligence can help generate a strong resume, it can also aid when hirers have to sift through a large amount of resume submissions.
“In the current cost-conscious environment, with a relatively tight labour market and extremely high application volumes, the time and effort that goes into the recruitment process is an increasingly crucial problem to solve for most hirers,” says Simon Lusted, a SEEK product executive.
“From writing the job ad, to salary benchmarking, shortlisting candidates and following up. Our focus is on reducing friction, or hold-ups, when hiring, and in surfacing good candidates in real time, reducing the lag between deciding to hire and making an offer.”
Keep an eye on: “AI supporting both sides of the hiring process, but importantly, increasingly improving the outcomes for both hirers and candidates – with better matches made faster.”
4. Increased emphasis on culture
Striving to make work a somewhat enjoyable endeavour pays dividends in retention and productivity.
“Connection between teams, as well as within teams, is valuable for both the business and for its people,” says Kathleen McCudden, a SEEK people & culture executive. “Activities such as social committees, informal learning and ideation sessions, and joint projects that encourage cross-functional collaboration are just some examples of initiatives to help drive deeper connections across teams.”
Building culture can be difficult when teams are working remotely.
“Fostering connection among employees remains a challenge for many companies working with hybrid and geographically disparate teams. We’ve learnt that distributed teams can work effectively together, but it requires deliberate effort to build rapport and foster a sense of belonging amongst people,” says McCudden.
Keep an eye on: “Balancing the needs of an individual, the team, and the organisation in fostering a sustainable and flexible work environment, which enables a strong connection amongst people.”
5. Focus on purpose and community
In a time when budgets are shrinking and economic uncertainty abounds, prioritising workplace engagement and community may seem like wasted time to some.
Aimee Hutton, SEEK’s head of Customer Insights & Strategy, says SEEK research shows that salary and flexibility are motivators, however, the type of work and who employees are working with are the key drivers of happiness.
“As the workforce shifts, with fewer of the older generation (Baby Boomers) and more Gen Z employees, understanding the drivers of happiness is increasingly important. Having a purpose at work is the top driver of workplace happiness,” says Hutton.
Workplace demographics are evolving and a sense of purpose is becoming more important than ever.
“While rising operating costs and reduced hiring budgets may continue to drive business decisions as we head into 2025, we also know that it is vital for businesses to understand and foster engagement among their employees for the betterment of both the business and their workers,” says Hutton.
Keep an eye on: “The shifting composition of the workforce and the rising needs of Gen Z.”
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