State of play

Paul O’Loughlin

What a whirlwind period in all of our lives. COVID has dealt the “unpredictable card” in so many ways. Lockdown after lockdown, political turmoil, medical upheaval with the vast global vaccination programme taking place and the list goes on. Amidst so much pain and suffering, there is evidence however of economic optimism. We are an innovative mob and through all of the devastation new industries have sprung up everywhere. In Australia, we are now in a period of sustained economic growth, with low inflation, the lowest interest rates in our lives and the lowest unemployment rates in years. In fact, the Australian economy fundamentally is stronger now than Pre-COVID. We have the lowest unemployment rate in generations with economic growth higher than the growth rate prior to COVID.

What does this all mean? Well, there is an opportunity for jobs creation on a scale we have never seen. New industries with new skills in demand will become the order of the day. A global skills shortage is already impacting tech industries, Infrastructure, construction, property, telecommunications, healthcare, military/arms manufacturing and the list goes on. Then there are the “new-age” industries such as cyber-intelligence. There are skills required that are yet to be “invented” which is already causing disruption on a grand scale. The “new-age” term for this is “skills gaps”. The government will need to be on top of this in determining what type of educational frameworks and protocols are required to take up the slack with this ever-increasing issue. The Government policy development when it comes to “what skills are going to be required next year and the year after” will be demanded in order to sustain economic growth and prosperity into the future. This is an “escalating” issue for government’s across the globe!

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