Career Investigation Report

This career investigation report explores job opportunities in the healthcare industry in Australia. It discusses employment trends, intercultural challenges, and provides job seeking strategies. The report aims to assist job seekers in assessing the value of their profession and planning their career development.

Running head: REPORT
Career investigation report
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Executive summary
The following report has been formulated in the form of a career investigation plan for a
person who intends to secure a job in Australia in the healthcare industry. The report
discussed the trends of employment at a national and state level and also elucidated the
optimal strategies that would facilitate job seeking. Besides discussing the intercultural
challenges that might be encountered while searching for jobs, the report also elaborated on
the different prospects of career avenues related to health and social care services, by utilising
data from the labour market.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Purpose of the report..............................................................................................................3
Research and analysis................................................................................................................3
National and State employment trends..................................................................................3
Healthcare industry employment trends.................................................................................7
Mental health workforce....................................................................................................8
Career opportunities in healthcare industry.........................................................................10
Intercultural challenges........................................................................................................11
Recommendations and job seeking strategy............................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
Purpose of the report
The primary aim of this report focuses on assessing and evaluating the career
opportunities that are present in the Australian Labour Market. The report will conduct an
analysis of the recent market trends within the domain of health and social care and will also
try to explore the impact of these trends on present and upcoming livelihood prospects. The
report will encompass a thorough and comprehensive research of previous, present and
forthcoming rates of employment and unemployment in Australia, with the aim of gaining a
sound understanding the effects that government policies have exerted on the altering nature
of jobs, in addition to the demands of the companies. There is adequate evidence for the fact
that some of the major structural changes that have been brought about in the labour market
through decentralisation of salary negotiation and implementation of technology in the
workforce (Riley 2018). Hence, the report will provide assistance to contemporary job
seekers, associated to the healthcare industry, with the aim of assessing the actual value of
their profession and the ensuing career development.
Research and analysis
National and State employment trends
Recent trend estimates of the Australian labour market suggests that there has been an
increase in the rates of employment to 12,762,800 from 20,600 persons in the month of
February, 2019. While the rates of full-term employment showed a huge upsurge from 12,300
to 8,743,400 individuals, increase was also observed in the rates of partial employment from
8,200 to 4,019,300 people (ABS 2019). Presence of a steady unemployment rate at 5.0%
provided evidence for the fact that more number of job opportunities have been created for

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the residents of the nation in the past months. Steady participation rate at 65.6% was also
observed in the labour market.
Figure 1- Employment rates
Source- (ABS 2019)
Furthermore, over the last year, the employment trend increased by an estimated
290,700 individuals (2.3%), which in turn was beyond the mean annual growth that had been
recorded over the past 20 years (2.0%) (ABS 2019). The Australian Government Department
of Employment has suggested that the rates of total employment are expected to rise by
roughly 7.8% (948,400 persons), over succeeding years till 2022 (Labour Market Information
Portal 2019).
This is in accordance to other predictions that have projected employment rates to
increase in an estimated 17 industries over the next five years, with a special emphasis on the

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healthcare and social assistance industry that is estimated to exert the highest contribution on
the growth of employment (Labour Market Information Portal 2019).
Figure 2- Unemployment rates
Source- (ABS 2019)
An analysis of unemployment rates by states and territories in January 2019 indicate
that highest rates of unemployment were found in Tasmania (7.0%), followed by Western
Australia (6.8%), South Australia (6.3%), Queensland (6.0%), and Northern Territory (5.0%).
Lowest unemployment rates were evident in Australian Capital Territory (3.5%), thus
providing evidence for the presence of job opportunities in that region (Labour Market
Information Portal 2018).

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Figure 3- Unemployment rate across States
Source- (Labour Market Information Portal 2018)
Likewise, employment rates across the state and territory were highest in Australian
Capital Territory (78.2%), succeeded by Northern Territory (76.5%), Western Australia
(75.1%), Victoria (74.5%), and New South Wales (74.2%) (Labour Market Information
Portal 2018).
Figure 4- Employment rates across states

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Source- (Labour Market Information Portal 2018)
Healthcare industry employment trends
Employment in the Australian workforce prevails across 19 varied industries, as
categorised in the 2006 Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification
(ANZSIC). These 19 industries that provide job opportunities to Australia residents are given
below:
1. Accommodation and Food Services
2. Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
3. Arts and Recreation Services
4. Construction
5. Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services
6. Financial and Insurance Services
7. Mining
8. Information Media and Telecommunications
9. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
10. Retail Trade
11. Wholesale Trade
12. Transport, Postal and Warehousing
13. Administrative and Support Services
14. Education and Training
15. Health Care and Social Assistance

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16. Manufacturing
17. Public Administration and Safety
18. Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
19. Other Services
The maximum occupations that provided livelihood to a huge number of individuals in
2018 were namely, sale assistants, registered nurses, general clerks, and retail managers. As
per recent trends, the domain of Health Care and Social Assistance provides employment to
roughly 1,685,100 individuals, which in turn accounts for an estimated 13.2% of the entire
Australian workforce (Labour Market Information Portal 2018). Rates of employment in this
particular industry has seen an enormous increase over the last years (21.4%). The average
age for employees in this industry has been calculated to be roughly 42 years, with a median
weekly earning near $1,000 per week. Furthermore, recent reports suggest that healthcare
industry has the role of delivering a plethora of services through several public and private
organisations (AIHW 2015).
When combined, there exists higher than 1 million individuals who are currently
employed in delivering health and social services across Australia. There were an estimated
88,000 medical practitioners in 2015, and 449,000 people were direct employees of the
welfare workforce in the year 2014. Furthermore, greater proportion of women are currently
employed in the healthcare industry, in comparison to their male counterparts. Additionally,
the average full time hours that are spent by people working in this particular industry is 36
hours.
Mental health workforce
There are a plethora of varied healthcare and community wellbeing professionals,
such as, psychologists, general practitioners, psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers, who

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are entitled with the duty of delivering a range of mental healthcare associated services to
Australians. Reports from this particular domain of the healthcare industry suggests that there
were an estimated 20,834 mental health nurses, 24,522 registered psychologists, and 3,131
psychiatrists in Australia in 2015. In addition, 31.1% of the nurses were male, when
paralleled to 1 in 10 people in the general nursing staff. Reports from 2015 also suggest that
roughly 31.9% mental health nurses and 43.9% psychiatrists were aged more than 55 years.
Further reports from the government websites also provide evidence for the fact there were
approximately 69% registered and enrolled nurses who were employed in the area of mental
health. Furthermore, more than three-quarters (75.9%) of the FTE mental health nurses had
been employed across major cities in 2016 (AIHW 2016). The report also indicated that
mental health nurses had to work for an estimated 35.1 hours every week, with the working
time extending to as high as 38.9 hours in Northern Territory, thus establishing the high work
pressure in this domain of the healthcare industry.
Figure 5- Work hours spent by mental health nurses

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Source- (AIHW 2016)
Additionally, mental health nurses who had been employed in remote and very remote
regions reported greater working hours, in comparison to those who worked in urban areas.
Furthermore, an increase was observed in the supply of nurses who formed the mental health
workforce, from 77.0-84.2 FTE/100,000 population, during 2011-2015. However, there was
stability in the proportion of female and male nurses during this time (AIHW 2019).
Career opportunities in healthcare industry
According to the projected estimates, the industry of healthcare and social assistance
has been identified as the largest provider of new employment opportunities in the Australian
labour market, over the long run. The industry is also projected to underwrite an estimated
one quarter of the cumulative employment growth over succeeding five years, thereby
increasing the employment rate by roughly 16.3% (229,400) (Department of Employment
2014). Some of the major factors that significantly contribute to this projected growth
comprise of application of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, uprising demand for
home based and childcare services, and the ageing population. Furthermore, reports from The
Department of Jobs and Small Business indicate that the total rates of employment will
increase by 7.1%, with as much as 14.9% in the healthcare industry. The Health Services
subdivision is in the growth phase of its life cycle. The projected growth in this particular
domain can be accredited to increased provisions for public funding realted to health and
social care services. The ageing population of Australia is a major driver of the demand for
an increased workforce (Sotiriadou and Wicker 2014).
Furthermore, increase in the coverage for private health insurance significantly
contributes to the development in the healthcare industry that has been found to lack
opportunities for adequate government funding (Henderson 2015). Some of the major factors

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that have been identified imperative for growth of the healthcare industry are namely,
economy of scope, effective cost management, and the capability to utilise government grants
and other subsidies. Taking into account the fact that resident disability home forms a major
component of the work role, there is a strong prospect for the role of aged and disability care
workers in future years, with an estimated weekly pay of $900, and 175,800 workers
currently being employed in the sector. Recent estimates also suggest that there are likely to
be roughly 179,000 job openings over the next five years, with approximately 35,800 new
employment opportunities each year (Australian Government 2019).
The job title of a registered nurse also encompasses two domains of disability and
rehabilitation, and mental health or psychiatric nurse, respectively. People employed in the
latter domain will be responsible for delivering nursing care to all patients suffering from
mental distress, dysfunction, and disorder, in addition to those who are experiencing
emotional problems, and crisis in home or the community. The number of registered nurses is
also expected to increase from 279,600-330,900 by the year 2023 (Australian Government
2019). New employment opportunities can arise due to workers leaving and there lies a
possibility of as many as 147,000 new job openings being created over the next years. The
healthcare industry will also provide employment to several psychiatrists and psychologists
in near future with expectations of 1,000 and 38,000 job openings being created in
succeeding years.
Intercultural challenges
Cultural competence has been rightly defined as the capability to communicate,
understand and interact with individuals belonging to varied cultures, and primarily
encompasses the process of being aware of personal views on the world (Betancourt et al.
2016). The country in question, Australia, has been identified to be a low power distance

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country. Power distance refers to the extent to which members of organisations and
institutions who are less powerful will accept the presence of unequal distribution of their
power (Yuan and Zhou 2015). Hence, being a low power distance country makes Australia
demonstrate a culture where all people have the expectation of being listened and
acknowledged, notwithstanding their background and/or rank (Daniels and Greguras 2014).
In addition, they also refute the opinions of leaders and managers who are perceived
as patronising or autocratic. Therefore, presence of necessary confidence, creative thinking
and innovative skills will prove imperative in seeking employment for all job seekers. Hence,
regardless of the merit of the potential job candidates, they would have to adorn necessary
interpersonal skills for securing their employment. Besides, the concept of cross cultural
competence will also play an important role in seeking employment since first name policy is
quite prevalent across the nation, where all people are called by their names, regardless of
their designation and rank. Under circumstances when the job seekers belong to different
background that focuses on showing respect, while calling people, they must adopt to this
new culture, in order to establish an easy rapport with the employers.
Recommendations and job seeking strategy
I must begin with the conduction of a comprehensive self-assessment that will allow
them to explore their background, hobbies, ambitions, values and perceptions. This will help
in determination of the job that is most suited. Owing to the fact that job hunting is a time
consuming process, I will control dread of the unknown, while welcoming the challenges. I
will display an interest in exploring new experiences and should also identify the correct
employers for establishing contact. Checking out the career centres of the relevant state will
help in gaining awareness on industry trends and salaries. In addition, I will also contact
nationwide job hotlines for learning about new employment opportunities.

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Conclusion
To conclude, the report explored the function of recruitment agencies in the health
and social care industry, their operations, and the opportunities and resources that are
available for job seekers. The report also provided adequate details on the future prospects of
the nursing and disability care workforce, thus facilitating identification of future
opportunities, and assisting in the development of a strategy that will help in securing an
employment in the healthcare industry.

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References
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Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6202.0 [Accessed 27 Feb. 2019]
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2019]
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2019]
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27 Feb. 2019]

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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare., 2016. Mental health workforce. [online]
Available at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/39ef59a4-4bb3-4f90-b117-
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