The latest Australian Jobs 2026, released by Jobs and Skills Australia, provides a valuable snapshot of where Australia’s labour market is heading and what this means for students making decisions today.
Several messages stand out.
The most important message is that careers are becoming less linear. Students are likely to move between occupations, industries and further education throughout their lives. Helping them understand their transferable strengths and capabilities may therefore be more valuable than trying to identify one lifelong occupation.
Qualifications matter, but there is no single “best” pathway. More than 90% of employment growth over the decade to 2035 is expected to require post-school training. Importantly, VET, apprenticeships and university should be presented as parallel pathways, with the right choice depending on the student’s interests, strengths and aspirations.
School subjects are one way to explore careers, but they don’t tell the whole story. When students first understand who they are, what they’re naturally good at and the strengths they bring, they can explore careers that genuinely fit them, often discovering opportunities they may never have considered
Helping a young person understand who they are, what they’re naturally good at and the strengths they bring to work provides a much stronger foundation for exploring careers. Year 9 students completing the MyCareerMatch profile gives them a personal starting point, combined with labour-market information to help them identify realistic and motivating pathways.
At the moment, growth is particularly strong in Health Care and Social Assistance, with Education and Training, Construction, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services also expanding. At the same time, AI is expected to change how many jobs are performed rather than simply replace them, increasing the value of human capabilities such as judgement, communication and problem-solving.