Success doesn’t follow a single path.
Australia’s future workforce will depend on people developing the skills and capabilities needed as jobs and industries evolve. The pathways through which people build those skills, connect with opportunities and continue to develop throughout their working lives will be critical.
The scale of that challenge is significant. Jobs and Skills Australia’s Australian Jobs 2026 report shows that more than 90% of projected employment growth over the 10 years to May 2035 is expected to be in occupations requiring post-secondary school education or training.
Meeting that need will rely on multiple pathways through learning and work. Higher education and vocational education and training provide established routes, including apprenticeships and traineeships. Employment can also provide an entry point, with experience gained through work supporting further learning and qualifications.
The value of these pathways lies in how effectively they connect people, skills and opportunity.
For individuals, that means being able to navigate learning and work as their aspirations, circumstances and opportunities evolve. For employers and industries, effective pathways help build and connect them with the skills and capabilities they need as workforce requirements change.
These outcomes depend on connections across the jobs and skills system. The decisions and actions of employers, education and training providers, governments, industry and communities all influence how pathways develop, how visible they are and how effectively they respond to labour market needs.
This makes pathways more than an individual journey. They are an important part of how Australia develops the workforce capability needed to respond to economic and labour market change.
That is the thinking behind Pathways to Success, the theme of the inaugural Jobs & Skills Month.
From 20 October to 20 November, Jobs & Skills Month will bring perspectives from across the jobs and skills system together to explore how pathways are evolving, where opportunities are emerging and what stronger connections between learning, skills and work could mean for Australia’s future workforce.
Find out more about Jobs & Skills Month and this year’s theme, Pathways to Success.