• A new report conducted by RMIT Online and Deloitte Access Economics outlines the dramatic skills gaps between the digital capabilities of the Australian workforce and jobs of the future.
• It found 87% of new jobs demand digital skills, with 156,000 new technology workers required for Australia to keep pace with the rest of the world.
• The education sector needs to radically rethink how it trains students for digital jobs, general manager for ANZ at Snap Inc., Kathryn Carter told Business Insider Australia.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

A new report outlines the dramatic divide between the jobs of the future and the current digital capabilities of the Australian workforce.

Conducted by RMIT Online and Deloitte Access Economics, the report reveals a significant gap in digital skills across Australia’s workforce, showing that 87% of new jobs demand digital skills, with 156,000 new technology workers required for Australia to keep pace with the rest of the world.

To meet these needs, Snap Inc., the camera and social media company behind Snapchat, has been publicly advocating that governments, schools and universities rethink their traditional models of education, general manager for ANZ, SEA & HK Kathryn Carter told Business Insider Australia.

With the number of Gen Z in work forecasted to more than double to nearly five million by 2030, Carter said the company is pushing for educational opportunities that unite tech abilities with the kinds of creative skills not easily automated or replaceable by AI.

Carter suggested that the jobs of the future will require the kinds of skills an employee at Snap has, or indeed one of its 265 million daily active users.

It’s an idea highlighted by New York Times tech journalist Kevin Roose’s new book “Futureproof”, which argues that the next generation will need to sell themselves on human skills like adaptability and creativity.

Where computers are unmatchable in speed and complexity within known boundaries, the more fluid the setting the greater the difficulties, Roose argues. “And so far, A.I. has fared poorly at what is called ‘transfer learning’ — using information gained while solving one problem to do something else.”

Carter said that “tech know-how and so-called ‘cognitive skills’ like creativity and critical thinking will be much more in demand in the future,” with an internal report highlighting areas like augmented reality (AR) as a growth space that Snap is now investing in.

AR “is a market that is anticipated to increase ten-fold in value by 2023 in sectors as diverse as marketing and education to construction and agriculture,” Carter said.

The platform has invested with its Lens Studio, which it promotes for use by creators as a tool to connect with users.

“Institutions must consider how technology can be implemented into curriculums and informal learning environments,” Carter said.

“To fully seize the benefits of the new digital economy, technology is fundamental. We need to look to heighten the prevalence of emergent technologies like augmented reality in education situations.”

Faced with cumulative losses of up to A$19 billion over the next three years due to missed international student revenue, there are already signs the Australian education sector is using the disruption of the pandemic to reshape education.

On March 18, the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced it would launch a new tertiary education institution blending features of university and TAFE, with an industry presence on campus built to ensure courses will be responsive to employer need and demand.

The Premier said the new Institute of Applied Technology would help people and industry prepare for future disruption, and would launch initially in Sydney, with scope to expand into other states.

“It’s almost a third way,” Berejiklian said, adding “eventually we hope this becomes a national scheme.”

The announcement comes in response to a suite of reforms recommended following a government-commissioned year-long review of the vocational education sector.

One of the key recommendations to come out of the report was a need to better consult with industry experts on VET course curriculums, and to improve the quality of vocational education in high schools and beyond.

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