The Evolution of Skills by TAFE Enterprise, the commercial arm of TAFE NSW, dives deep to analyse different sectors as we move into the digital revolution. We look at this thought-leadership report and outline 3 things to look out for.

1. Cybersecurity careers

The report says that the security of personal information is of paramount importance to government agencies and is one of the conditions on which people have been willing to trust them with sensitive data.

“According to AustCyber, the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network, Australia’s information security sector is already facing a shortage of approximately 2,300 workers and is expected to need another 17,600 by 2026,” says the report.

“Cybersecurity skills include capabilities in threat detection and analysis, incident response, and remediation, along with project management and software development.”

CYBERSECURITY CAREERS
TAFE NSW Bachelor of Information Technology (Network Security) graduate Lachlan Gibb says that it was through all the industry-relevant information and connections he gained from teachers that he was able to secure a full-time position at a leading Australian information security company.

“I'm working as a cybersecurity analyst, which is the defensive side of cybersecurity where we monitor the events going on in a number of different environments, looking for any outliers that could indicate malicious activity,” says Lachlan.

“The practical applications we learned through TAFE NSW, particularly focused around networking, make it a lot easier for me to spot anomalies because I know how a lot of the protocols work.”

He says the flexibility of TAFE NSW allowed him to take the dream position and then study part-time to complete his degree.

2. Industry-focused degrees

“When discussing future skills challenges it bears remembering that the challenges that exist today will not disappear," the report says.

"However, business trends dictate that the need for new skills will increase and new shortages will emerge as demand grows.

“These new skills will not be created easily. The deeper specialisation required for emerging roles will translate to lengthy training processes, and many emerging roles will require skills from multiple fields."

TAFE NSW Degrees are tailored by industry for tomorrow’s jobs. Taught in dynamic, progressive learning environments – with access to industry-standard facilities and equipment – TAFE NSW Degrees all factor in the continuing evolution of skills. They are made for the future. Your future.

• Business
• Community Services
• Early Childhood Education and Care
• 3D Art and Animation
• Interior Design
• Applied Engineering
• Information Technology
• Fashion
• Property Valuation
• Applied Commerce
• Creative Practice

3. Go softly, softly

A key take-home from the report is the importance of soft skills among front-line teams to improve customer-service capabilities, while building skills in problem-solving and systems-thinking.

In this digital, hyper-connected world, information overload and its associated stresses are the new norm. Soft skills such as creativity, adaptability, time management and collaboration allow employees to process new information better and to make better decisions.

SOFT SKILLS
Soft skills are sometimes hard to measure and teach. It has traditionally been thought that you either have soft skills or you don't. But that isn't the case. It just requires an innovative approach to training, and in the business setting, TAFE NSW can empower you to learn these soft skills.

Be a good decision-maker: Soft skills such as creativity, adaptability, time management and collaboration allow employees to better process new information and make better decisions.

Be adaptable: Initiative, persuasion and negotiation also make career progression easier. People need the agility to be able to learn as they go, be able to change their tactics, and be in the moment as the technology and role changes.

Be more engaged: Collaboration, ethics and complex problem-solving skills will mean that you will be a more valuable member of the diverse and dynamic teams that make up the modern business landscape.

TAFE NSW offers hundreds of courses, including degrees. All nationally recognised qualifications are based on the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF). There are also hundreds of short courses – many nationally recognised, but all respected and industry-tuned.

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