Exploring the emerging employability skills in occupations: an Australian perspective

We live in rapidly changing circumstances in which global market forces impact on the demand for labour and the skills required in the workplace. This has caused changes and challenges in economies such as Australia and Argentina. This paper aims to outline and discuss why some skill sets might be more important than others in meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing labour market, that is, how best to respond to a rapidly changing labour market and importantly how best to assess what sets of skills are required by the economy to grow and to compete effectively in an increasingly complex and competitive economic global environment. The paper argues that one way of achieving a good understanding of skill requirements is through the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), an extensive US database that describes the attributes and characteristics of occupations and workers. It uses the O*NET data on skill which is made up of 46 distinct indicators and applies it to the Australian labour market context using the Monash Forecasting System, and presents detailed 'employability skills' forecasts.