A new study from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) demonstrates that lifelong learning is the key to helping people successfully navigate both disruption and opportunity in a rapidly changing labour market - and reinforces how important the Albanese Government's investments in skills are for supporting secure, well-paid jobs now and for the future.
The Forces at work: adult learning and the Australian labour market paper finds that skills are changing faster across most occupations, driven by technological change, increasing job complexity and ongoing structural shifts in the economy.
It also highlights how personal preferences, needs and circumstances shape people's learning and career decisions.
Forces at work is the first step to better understanding the changes affecting jobs in the modern workforce and how workers and employers can adapt and thrive.
JSA's findings reinforce the Albanese Government's commitment to helping Australians across the country access opportunities to shape their careers, with pathways to develop, recognise and use their skills in new settings.
Free TAFE has proven to be a game-changer for hundreds of thousands of Australians, with 742,000 enrolments in the first three years. Program data reflects that Australians of all ages are benefitting from the opportunity to skill, upskill or reskill in occupations that people rely on every day.
As skills deepen and tasks become more complex over time, lifelong learning is critical not only for people who change jobs or industries; but also for those who remain in the same role.
JSA also notes the growing importance of lifelong learning for older workers in supporting longer working lives and continued workforce participation.
The Government's investments in foundation skills recognise how important it is to support Australians over their entire careers.
This includes through the re-designed Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) Program, are ensuring that in a time of change Australians can build their literacy, numeracy, language and digital skills - and their confidence in the workplace and wider community with it.
The Forces at work: adult learning and the Australian labour market paper is available on the Jobs and Skills Australia website.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles:
"We are continuing to back Australians at every stage of their working life, with our initiatives to build strong foundation skills alongside Free TAFE and other forms of training that helps people adapt as jobs and industries evolve.
"Skills development is not a one‑off event - it's a lifelong journey. It's important for Australians to have access to the training and learning they need to thrive, no matter where they start or where their career takes them.
"Lifelong learning brings benefits to the workplace, but it also helps build confidence and skills outside of work too - to help Australians live better and more secure lives."
Quotes attributable to Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Amanda Rishworth:
"To keep building your toolbox of knowledge empowers people to keep pace with change, maintain employability and take up new well-paid opportunities, regardless of their age, background or line of work.
"This research shows that learning doesn't stop once you get a qualification or land a job.
"Whether you're early in your career, changing roles or staying in the same job for decades, more frequent upskilling is becoming part of working life - and the Albanese Government is backing you in to access opportunities to do this."
Quotes attributable to Jobs and Skills Australia Commissioner, Professor Barney Glover AO:
"The Australian labour market is constantly evolving, and our skills system needs to evolve with it.
"As Australians live and work longer, supporting learning across the life course will be increasingly important for productivity, participation and economic resilience.
"These insights on how Australians can thrive amid accelerating change are the latest in JSA's timely analysis of the nation's jobs and skills system."
