1 August 2025
Inquiry into student pathways to in-demand industries
Victorian Parliament Legislative Assembly’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee inquiry into student pathways to in-demand industries is very relevant to the Australian finance, technology, and business (FTB) sectors. There are high growth opportunities for employment in Victoria in FTB occupations.
Accounting for 13% of the Australian workforce, FTB sectors consist of in-demand industries. In the 3 years 2021 to 2024 the:
- finance employed 732,180 people, up 9%.
- technology employed 471,920 people, up 10%.
- business employed 662,320 people, up 6%.
See the FSO submission for supporting data and links to FSO and Victorian data dashboards.
Generalist skills transverse the labour market, as many have noted:
- Human capital accumulation also requires the core transferable skills.
- Senior secondary graduates need a broader and different mix of skills compared to previous generations.
- JSA research found too many engineering and IT graduates are not being hired for jobs because they lack employability skills.
See what FSO recommends in its submission to address the need for widely held generalist skills.
Digital capability and AI require the uplift of digital skills across the workforce in all industries:
- Technology is predicted to be the most divergent driver of labour-market change.
- The number of digitally excluded/highly excluded Australians in 2023 was substantial.
- National and state leadership is required.
Read FSO’s submission for the evidence and to understand the opportunity.
Earn While You Learn Pathways (EWYL) will strengthen school-to-work transitions.
- Needed is collaboration by Victorian schooling system with FTB industries, employers, and sector unions.
- FTB sectors are ideal industries to trial a more innovative approach, in collaboration with FSO.
- Mapping pathways into EWYL for students will demonstrate how preparation programs contribute to success.
Read the FSO’s submission, then for further reading download the FSO EWYL report.
Entry Level Pathways into and across FTB in-demand occupations and visualisation of those pathways is critical:
- Pathway visualisation is a key tool for communicating the needs of employers and industry and ways into employment.
- Based on skills, mapping/visualising pathways will widen and deepen the talent pool for in-demand industries.
- Pathways will provide clearer guidance for curriculum/qualification design and development
FSO’s submission sets out an agenda for Entry Level Pathways in Victoria.