Gen Z and Careers

Generation Z – Gen Z people, are those born between 1997 and 2012.

As the first Gen Zs start to progress into the workforce, we ask – “what jobs will Gen Zs apply for?”

First, to understand the jobs that Gen Zs will have, you need to understand the common barriers Gen Zs will face during their career progression.

In this article we will cover:

  • The future job market
  • Growth job sectors
  • The global talent market
  • Creating multiple income streams
  • How do I choose a job

The future job market

Technology, globalisation, and AI have created a fast-changing job market.

In the next ten years, Gen Zs will be applying for jobs that currently don’t exist.

With the likes of Elong Musk and Richard Branson designing, building, and launching their own rockets, jobs in space is no longer a futuristic idea. It’s happening right now.

Other job roles will disappear.

Some will simply no longer be required, but others will be automated – completed by robots. A Fortune recent article said that: “robots will replace 40% of jobs in the next 15 years”.

This could include many low to medium-skilled jobs. Already, Amazon-fresh has opened it’s just walk out’ shop, allowing shoppers to purchase goods without having to wait in a long queue to pay for their groceries, removing the need to hire checkout operators.

Robots and technology will be used in dangerous industries such as fire fighting, mining, and on the battlefield.

In many of these sectors, robots and humans will work side by side with the machine tackling the most hazardous part of the task.

In an article earlier this year on The Guardian, they explained how: “Thirty thousand “robot soldiers” could form an integral part of the British army in the 2030s”.

Already, AI is used in HR (Human Resources) reducing the number of humans required to complete business as usual tasks. AI is employed to scan job applicants’ application forms and even to conduct online job interviews.

Growth job sectors.

To predict what jobs will be available for Gen Z job seekers, forecasters look at future demands, and what jobs will be required to produced the ‘demand’.

Sarah Dillon in a recent article on the ladders listed 10 possible growth sectors

  1. Data science
  2. Software development
  3. Healthcare
  4. Artificial Intelligence
  5. Mental health
  6. Sales
  7. Digital designers
  8. Marketing
  9. Finance
  10. Education

Some experts believe that a new industrial revolution is on its way.

With AI, nanotechnology, genetics, automation, 3D printing, science, and all things STEM creating new ways to solve problems, the world is changing at a rapid rate.

HR Technologist explained the 5 drivers of change:

  • The rise of technology
  • Social and demographic chnages
  • Connectedness
  • A global talent market
  • Man-Machine collaberation

The global talent market.

The job market has always been competitive.

The difference fro Gen Z job applicants is the number of people applying for the same advertised position.

Prior to the launch of online applications, job seekers had to handwrite a lengthy job application form. The time this took, as well as the number of hours search then ‘job column’ in a newspaper or traveling to business to physically hand-in your CV, resulted in a lower number of applications per vacancy.

The average number of applications per vacancy was around 25.

Once online applications became the new way to apply for job roles, career professionals, uploading CVs and copying and pasting application forms, could quickly apply for a number of different roles in quick succession.

Today, the average number of applications per role is around 250. But for global companies; Google, Microsoft, Telsa, the average number of applications is in the thousands.

To summarise, the job marketing is changing.

But this is nothing new. The job market is a living beast, always shifting, evolving based on a number of drivers of change which can also include global economics, customer demand, and technology.

These drivers of change can help Gen Z job seekers predict future job growth sectors.

Applying for a position is more competitive than ever before. And applicants may be interviewed by robots not humans.

This new era of work is leading Gen Z career professionals to have multiple income streams.

Creating multiple income streams.

Having multiple jobs or incomes is the new norm.

Gen Z’s have grown up with their bedrooms filled with technology, with a virtual set of friends, and half their life spent online.

For the Gen Z, having a virtual job, either as a second income or a full-time position is an obvious solution.

The online position may include:

  • Creating a second income from a blog, podcast or youtube channel
  • Selling goods on an Etsy channel is relatively easy, often with low overheads
  • Offering services on fiver or getting finacial backing for an idea or product through kickstarter can create massive earnings

The days of working in one organization for life have long gone, even among the older workforce. The banking crisis and Covid have shown how unexpected events can kill careers.

Young people have many interests, many skills, many options. Having multiple jobs can be creative, challenging and creates choice.

If one job doesn’t work out, the Gen Z worker can leave while still having an income from a second or third career. 

Gen Z understands the global market and will work for companies in various countries.

How to choose a job?

Salary is still a career motivator for many people.

But Gen Zs are also interested in the ethics of an organization, their values, and mission.

Whereas an older career professional may have the belief that you should accept the job based on the salary alone, Gen Z job applicants will reflect on their work-life balance, the environment they will be working in, what freedom they will have in the job, and if their personal values meet the values of the employer.

Evolve the mind book on Amazon

This new outlook affects employers.

On average, career professionals only stay in a job for an average of 3-5 years. Compared to the Gen Zs grandparents who would have had a ‘job for life’.

This is why employers, especially in sectors where there are more jobs than applicants, or in growth sectors, or industries with an aging workforce, will work hard to increase staff retention.

This is why tech companies looking to recruit the youth, have flexible working hours. In these companies, you can bring your dog to work, have a nap in a ‘sleeping bay’ or take a duvet day whenever you require one.

Robots Recruited for Low Skilled Jobs

Robots Recruited for Low Skilled Jobs

Imagine a future where technology is so advanced that robotics has taken over low skilled jobs

Imagine a future where we no longer have a delivery postal person mailing letters through our doors, instead, drones will fly from the warehouse, warehouses, where robotic warehouse staff  unload vans, pick and pack goods, before loading drones that will fly to our houses dropping parcels into our hands

Imagine a future where robots stack shelves in supermarkets, where robots clean hospital wards and where robots engineer driverless cars, space stations and computer programmed glasses

Imagine a future where we work in space, exploring new planets, mining minerals from asteroids that are shooting across the galaxy, a future where we even holiday next to the stars

Future Careers and Robotics 

Imagine a future where science is so advanced that we can use the natural energy from the sun to power our computers, kitchen appliances and machines. A future where we collect free electricity from the power of waves and a future where cars run off natural gases

Imagine a future where we live to an average age of 110, a future where medical science has cured diabetes, cancer and even the common cold. A future where organs for transplants are grown in labs, where parents can choose the eye colour and skin tone of their unborn baby, a future where scientist grow strawberries in labs to the size my head, steaks as big as cars and carrots as long as my arm

Imagine this, no more starvation, a real reduction in illness, robots and robotics working in every industry, in every town and even in every home.

 

   

Robots in Jobs Now 

To some, this sounds like something from a weird science fiction film but in actual fact, most of what I have quoted is happening right now.

Amazon has just been given permission by the UK government to test delivery drones, a hospital in Scotland employs robotic cleaners, the care industry is predicting a 10% rise in jobs due to the aging population and the UK government has predicted 100,000 space jobs over the next 10 years.

Virgin galactic is a plane that fly’s people into outer space, there are plans to put a human settlement on Mars, a bus in London is powered by human excrement and the oldest women who die a couple of months ago lived to the age of 116

With technology changing rapidly, we don’t know exactly what will happen in terms of the labour market but one thing is clear low skilled jobs are on the decrease and high-skilled jobs – science, technology, engineering and maths are set to rise.

Future UK Jobs 2014-2020

Future UK Jobs 2014-2020

The UK government has released its latest paper “Careers of the Future”

Background report – Dec 2014” this month predicting the increase and demise of various job sectors.

Overall high skilled jobs are on the increase and low-skill jobs are in decline. See below “source” for the full report.

Below is an extract from the paper.

Managers, directors and senior officials: The corporate managers category has been a significant source of employment growth for many years and this pattern of growth is expected to continue over the coming decade. The other category within this group is other managers and proprietors. This includes the owners and managers of small businesses, especially in the service sector. This category has also experienced steady growth in the past decade. This is expected to continue over the coming decade although the growth is moderated by the restructuring of the distribution and retailing sector, including the shift towards the use of the internet.

Professional occupations: All four of the professional sub-major groups experienced employment growth between 2002 and 2012 and this is projected to continue. The highest rate of growth for 2012-2022 is projected for Health professionals as the health sector begins to recover from slowdown caused by deficit reduction constraints. Science, research engineering and technology professionals and Business, media and public service professionals are also expected to see significant growth. All these professional groups are projected to increase their share of overall employment.

Associate professional and technical occupations: Substantial employment growth has been experienced by a number of these sub-major groups in recent years. Employment has grown most rapidly over the previous decade for health and social care associate professionals. The group was affected by cuts in public spending, but this is not expected to slow down the longer term trend. It is now projected to experience the most rapid rate of increase of all sub-major groups between 2012 and 2022. Growth was slowest over the past decade for science, engineering and technology associate professionals and for protective service occupations, both of which saw a net decline over the decade as a whole. The latter are expected to see some further job losses but things are expected to pick up for science, engineering and technology associate professionals as the economy recovers. The largest sub-major group in the associate professional category is Business and public service associate professionals, which includes specfic roles such as Sales accounts and business development managers. This is also projected to be by far the biggest contributor in this major group to future employment growth, contributing almost four times as many jobs as Health and social care associate professionals, the next largest contributor.

Administrative and secretarial occupations: A continuation of the decline in

employment is expected for this group as a whole as ICT displaces many such jobs.

Secretarial and related occupations, which includes secretaries, typists and word

processing operators, are expected to be particularly affected, reflecting their vulnerability to being displaced by advances in computer technology.

Skilled trades occupations: The recession has accelerated the already significant loss of jobs in many skilled trades occupations. Job losses in manufacturing and, post 2008 in construction, have impacted negatively on skilled metal and electrical trades, textile, printing and other skilled trades and construction and building trades. Construction trades are expected to recover over the coming decade, but this is not sufficient to reverse the overall decline for skilled trades. For textiles, printing and other skilled trades the pace of decline accelerates. Over the next decade jobs in construction and building trades are expected to grow more quickly than the average for the economy as a whole.

Caring, leisure and other service occupations: Historical employment growth in these categories is expected to continue over the coming decade. Caring personal service occupations were the most rapidly growing occupational sub-major group between 2002 and 2012. Although they slip into second place in terms of rate of growth over the period 2012-2022, in absolute terms they remain in top place, with an increase of over half a million jobs. A key driver here is the rising demand for services for an ageing population. The majority of these jobs are expected to be taken by women. The rate of growth in leisure, travel and related personal service jobs is expected to be more modest.

Sales and customer service occupations: This group is dominated by occupations

such as sales assistants and check-out operators in retail outlets who fall into the Sales Occupations sub-major group. This category has seen job losses in recent years as the retail and distribution sector restructures itself. Increasing concentration of businesses, competition from the Internet and technological developments such as automated checkout are expected to reduce the need for more traditional sales occupations, meaning that this pattern is expected to continue. In contrast, customer service occupations represent a much smaller but rapidly growing category. The demand for more specialist sales and customer care occupations is expected to continue over the coming decade.

Process, plant and machine operatives: This group includes a variety of occupations, some operating fixed plant in factories while others drive mobile plant and passenger and goods vehicles. Employment declined quite rapidly for the former category (process, plant and machine operators) over the last decade, linked to the loss of jobs in manufacturing. However, there were modest job gains for the transport and mobile machine drivers category. Over the coming decade, further substantial job losses are expected amongst process, plant and machine operators, whilst little change in the numbers of jobs for the transport and mobile machine drivers category is expected.

Elementary occupations: The elementary occupations consist of jobs that require little or no prior training. Employment levels across this group of occupations have been in long-term trend decline for many years, but there are some signs of this changing. The service sector, in particular, is beginning to generate a number of extra jobs in this area. Small job losses are expected for the decade as a whole but with some recovery in the second half of the period.

source 1

source 2

Local Labour Market UK

1.5 million Skilled jobs will be created in the coming years. Highly skilled jobs in our economy will increase, as lower-skilled jobs decline.

Globalisation has increased the number of companies operating across multiple countries, and led to a rise in demand for supporting ICT, Businesses and Financial Services.

It is in these sectors, alongside other services such as Sporting, Recreational, Cultural, Social and Personal Services, where the UK has seen the biggest gains in employment.

The Low Carbon Careers Green-Collar Jobs

The future is changing soon every industry will need “green collar jobs” As countries across the world increase their commitment to tackling climate change.

A diverse range of jobs can now enable you to “do your bit for the environment”, whether that involves helping companies to reduce their carbon footprints or designing hybrid cars.

Environmental Consultancies

Consultancies will offer information and advice on a range of environmental sectors; such as waste management, contaminated land remediation or sustainable energy.
Also assist clients in assessing the likely impacts of new installations, formulating corporate responsibility strategies or monitoring environmental performances.

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy will produce a host of job opportunities relating to the design, manufacturing, construction, installation, management and the operational running of renewable energy facilities.

Environmental Innovation

There is a big demand for cleaner technologies, this includes; hybrid vehicles, energy efficient appliances and biodegradable materials are just some of the areas attracting new research and innovation.

Water Management

Investment in flood defenses is highly likely to increase over the coming years. Devising flood defence strategies can include; river and flood plain modeling, monitoring water levels and the planning and construction of storm drains and artificial waterways to divert excess water. Also processing domestic and industrial wastewater.

Waste Management & Recycling

Dealing with the increasing volume of waste produced in the UK is an urgent task. Recycling, treatment and re-processing waste will create new jobs over future years.

Air Pollution Control

Reducing the amount of pollutants in the atmosphere and protecting the air we breathe is of vital importance to governments across the world.

Energy and manufacturing industries have a high demand for air pollution technology; also industries such as dry cleaners, petrol stations and the cremation industry, will be investing in equipment to reduce dioxins and heavy metals.

The number of jobs in the environmental industry is set to skyrocket in the next ten years.

Life Science

The UK is a world leader in Life Sciences and is strong in Regenerative Medicine and Stratified Medicine areas-where significant growth is projected.

The life science industry generates over £23 billion a year, employing over 400,000 people.

This sector is becoming increasingly High-Tech and Diverse, needing a highly skilled workforce.

£150 Million – £1 Billion is to be invested into the life science industry to increase “innovative Medicines,” Private Investment, “Regen-Med Programme” and to promote the UK and NHS “Brand”

Life science careers include:

  • Physiology
  • Agricultural Science
  • Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry
  • Astrobiology
  • Biomedical Research
  • Botany
  • Endocrinology
  • Genetics
  • Microbiology
  • Neurobiology
  • Palaeontology

Digital and Creative Industries

The UK’s digital sector is due to grow in size and importance over the next decade. This sector includes Information & Communication Technologies, Broadcasting and the Creative Industry.

Software and IT Services are set to grow by 4-5% in 2010, Games sub sector is set to grow by 6% and TV and Radio by 5%.

Jobs for this industry can include:

  • Animator
  • Copywriter
  • Editor
  • Fashion Designer
  • Graphic Designer
  • Journalist
  • Market Researcher
  • Radio/TV Producer
  • Wed-Editor
  • Telecom Engineer
  • Risk Manager (Telecom)
  • System Annalist
  • Tech Support

Business and Professional Services

The Business and Professional Service Sector has grown dramatically over the last few decades and continues to grow as new technologies change the way this sector works.

Changes in this sector have led to a fall in Low-Skilled jobs, particularly in Administrational roles. These roles have been replaced with new Highly Skilled jobs. Paperless offices could be the future.

Once the EU Service Directive is fully implemented, it is estimated to generate 81,000 jobs in the UK.

Jobs for this industry can include:

  • Ancillary Legal Professionals
  • Licensed Conveyancer
  • Barrister
  • Solicitor
  • Chartered Accountant
  • Actuarial Consultant
  • Banker
  • Credit Analyst
  • Financial Adviser
  • Operational Investment Banker
  • Pensions Consultant
  • Tax Adviser
  • Estate Agent

The Care Sector

Over the last 10 years we have seen a rise in childcare occupations by 40% Due to the expansion of free Government childcare provision, this trend is expected to continue.

To work in Childcare, employers will be looking for level 3 qualified employees.

Care for the elderly already amounts to a high number of jobs, with a forecast of UK citizens aged 80 and above due to rise by 25% over the next decade, the increase for demand in Social Care is expected to create an additional 1.1 million jobs by 2025.

Jobs role in this sector include:

  • Advice Worker
  • Charity Fundraiser
  • Charity Officer
  • Community Development Worker
  • Counsellor
  • Homelessness Officer
  • Mental Health Nurse
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Probation Officer
  • Social Worker

Retail Sector

Recently the retail sector has suffered from a fall in customer demand over the last year and the restraint in customer spending means job growth in this sector is expected to be slower than over the last decade.

But overall Retail will remain an important sauce of employment across the country with a mixture of highly-skilled and entry level retail positions.

The Retail sector is changing with new “self-service” supermarket checkouts and “pay and the Pump” petrol station systems.

This sector provides entry-level positions that can provide valuable opportunities for the long term unemployed.

Jobs in this industry can include:

  • Fashion Designer
  • Human Resources Officer
  • Industrial/Product Designer
  • Logistics and Distribution Manager
  • Market Researcher
  • Marketing Executive
  • Quality Manager
  • Retail Buyer
  • Retail Manager
  • Retail Merchandiser
  • Sales

Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Sectors

The UK’s Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure sector have grown over the last two decades with a real potential for continuing long-term economical growth.

As the increase of disposable incomes rises, people place a greater emphasis on quality leisure time. With leisure spending forecast to double, up to 200,000 jobs could be added to this sector over the next decade.

Jobs in this industry can include:

  • Air Cabin Crew
  • Travel Agency Manager
  • Holiday Representative
  • Hotel Manager
  • Event Organiser
  • Tourist Guide
  • Tour Manager
  • Tourism Officer
  • Public Relations Officer
  • Accommodation Manager
  • Conference Centre Manager
  • Event Organiser
  • Hotel Management
  • Public House Manager
  • Restaurant Manager

Space Sector

The government have planned to expand Britain’s space industry, creating a £40 billion business. This will have a positive in pact on Space Industry jobs, creating a predicted 100,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

The space sector is set to grow over the next 20 years; the future of the space industry is unpredictable as the fast pace of new technology can change the direction of this sector.

Space will be the earth’s eyes and ears with satellite observation and telecommunications.

Under UK plans, space-based observations will be used to monitor activity in war zones, deforestation, policing greenhouse gases. Employers will be able to monitor projects such as construction without having to leave their office.

With a high demand for high-definition and 3D television via space as broadcasting via satellites reduces our carbon emissions and is more cost effective, shows the increasing need for space communication.

The private sector is already a success story for British Industry, growing at a steady rate of 9% since 1999. It has been forecast that Britain could take 10% of the global market, which could be worth £400 billion by 2030.

Jobs in this industry can include:

  • Space Science
  • Satellite communication
  • Manufacture industry
  • Space observers
  • Satellite Broadcasting
  • Telecommunications
  • Earth Resources
  • Navigation
  • Launch Industry
  • Astronomy
  • Planetary Science
  • Space engineers
  • Support Staff