Looking towards the future
The industries that have projected employment growth to 2012–13 are:
- accommodation, cafes and restaurants
- agriculture, forestry and fishing
- communication services
- construction
- cultural and recreational services
- education
- electricity, gas and water supply
- finance and insurance
- government administration and defence
- health and community services
- mining
- personal and other services
- property and business services
- retail trade
- transport and storage.
The occupational groups that have the strongest projected job growth (over the next five years) are:
- accounting, finance and management
- building and construction
- computing and IT
- health, fitness, hair and beauty
- social welfare and security.
For more information on job prospects, visit the Job Outlook website at www.jobsearch.gov.au/careers .
There are many emerging technologies that will have a major impact on science and business in the future. Some of these are:
- biotechnology: the use of biological discoveries for the development of industrial processes and the production of useful organisms and their products in industries, such as agriculture and pharmaceutics, waste management and in the creation of renewable energy sources
- environmental management and materials technology: the investigation of chemical properties in metals, ceramics, polymers and other materials and the environmental impact of their use in commercial and engineering applications
- information and communication technologies (ICT): the combining of computers with telephone and internet technologies
- microelectronics: the development and use of very small circuits for products such as mobile phones and computers
- nanotechnology: the building of, or control over, materials and devices at the level of atoms and molecules, for application in manufacturing, electronics, pharmaceutics, medicine, textiles, fibres, agriculture, national security, aeronautics and space exploration, energy and the environment
- telecommunications (including photonics): the study and application of photons as a medium for transmitting information.