2. What is Work?
Work can be defined as:
• A job or task where a person receives money for exchange of
labour (can be full-time, part-time or casual work).
• Self employment.
• Contract work.
• A job or task that is unpaid (e.g. housework,).
• Volunteer work that is unpaid.
3. What is Work?
There are many types of work opportunities. The range can provide a
status in the workforce because of the link to salary, skills and
qualifications as well as the conditions and benefits employees may
enjoy in their particular career.
In social terms, the levels of employment can be described as:
• Unskilled
• Blue-collar workers
• White-collar workers
• Gold-collar workers
• Para-professional
• Professional
Australia needs all these levels of employment to be a healthy
economy. If everyone worked at one level, there would be less job
opportunities and there would be many jobs that would not get done .
This would negatively impact our society.
4. What is Work?
Question
Define the following terms:
• Unskilled labour
• Blue-collar worker
• White-collar worker
• Gold-collar worker
• Para-professional
• Professional
5. Types of Employment
• Unskilled labour is work that requires practically no training or
experiences for its adequate or competent performance.
• Blue-collar workers are workers who require specialised training to
perform a job requiring manual labour e.g..
mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, and many other types of
physical work.
• White-collar workers typically perform work in an office environment and
may involve professional managerial, or administrative work.
• Gold-collar workers are considered to be highly skilled employees who are
intelligent, independent and innovative workers. These workers include
lawyers, computer programmers, stock analysts and community
planners, editors and engineers.
• Para-professional is a job title given to people who are trained to assist
professionals, but are not themselves licenced as a professional. The para-
professional is able to perform tasks requiring significant knowledge in the
field, and may be able to function independently of direct professional
supervision, but lacks the official authority of the professional.
• Professional is an expert who has specialised knowledge in the field that
they are working in. These professions include
doctors, lawyers, scientists, engineers and educators.
6. Types of Employment
Levels of Employment Types of Employment
Unskilled
Blue-collar workers
White-collar workers
Gold-collar workers
Para-professional
Professional
7. The Evolution of Paid and Unpaid Work
The way we work is changing constantly. The traditional view of
beginning work at one place, developing skills and progressing
vertically through one organisation are now rare as employment
opportunities go. Work today often involves working in a
number of organisations in a series of time periods. Learning
new skills and retraining are part of the process.
Workers must be flexible in the skills they have and the skills
they continue to develop. The term ‘long-life learning’ and the
continuous development of generic skills are important to keep a
worker ‘employable’. The desire to have a career in one
particular area of a field may take time to achieve through a
winding pathway. On the other hand, a worker may find that the
career they trained for is abandoned as an opportunity opens up
in another type of job.
8. The Evolution of Paid and Unpaid Work
Career Minimum Training Requirements
Review Questions
1. Explain the main difference between traditional methods of
promotion in a particular career to modern methods of today.
2. What is important for a worker to do so that they can stay
employable?
3. Visit myfuture.edu.au and find the minimum training
requirements of five careers.
9. Social Implications of Paid Work, Unpaid
Work and Unemployment
As a society we are no longer able to predict, or determine, what is
secure employment and an individual might not find employment at
all. This means that anyone could experience times in their life when
they:
• are employed
• work for no pay (e.g. volunteer work)
• are unemployed and looking for a job.
These three states of work impact on the way society operates and
how people feel about themselves and others.
Working in paid employment can help people feel confident, secure
and happy. They are able to plan for the future and pay for the things
they need to buy.
It is important to balance work with other aspects of life such as
maintaining a social life, family responsibilities and health and fitness.
10. Social Implications of Paid Work, Unpaid
Work and Unemployment
Review Questions.
1. Why do you think “Working in paid employment can help
people feel confident, secure and happy”?
2. How can volunteer work help our community? Give an
example.
3. When people are unemployed and looking for work, what
are some job websites they can use to find job
advertisements.
4. Have a look at the myfuture.edu.au website. Why would this
website be useful for people looking for work or trying to
choose a career path?
11. Maintaining a Social Life
Your job or career will often dictate the type of social life you are able
to enjoy so you should take this into consideration when deciding on a
career. For example, if socialising with friends on weekends is a main
priority for you, then a career in the hospitality industry is probably
not for you. This is because it requires working late nights and
weekends.
Some jobs will require certain sacrifices like having to work overtime
when you arranged to go for a long-planned night out. At the same
time, work provides an ability to form strong, supportive friendships.
Question
List at least three important social activities that you would like to not
be interfered by your working life? Explain why they are important to
you.
12. Family Responsibilities
Current thinking about why people are working longer hours and the
general reluctance to take time off is that organisations are creating
competitive working environments. Workers feel they must continually
perform to a high standard to keep their jobs so that they are seen as
unreplaceable.
Working long hours and not leaving enough time to spend time with
your friends and family can:
• Create stress
• Lead to Depression
• Lead to ill-health
• Cause anger and resentment when family responsibilities are
sacrificed.
Balancing work with your social life and family responsibilities are just
as important as your career.
13. Family Responsibilities
Questions
1. Why do you think it is important to have a good balance
between your work life and your social/family activities?
2. What do think would be likely side effects of giving too much
priority to social activities over your job?
14. Health and Fitness
A characteristic of work is that as an individual you must
ensure that you look after yourself by eating healthy
food and getting the right amount of exercise and rest.
Overwork, excessive drinking, smoking, drug taking, lack
of sleep, overeating or eating the wrong foods, can all
contribute to low job performance and eventually
impact on your health leading to serious health issues.
Unpaid work, where a person carries out volunteer
work, work experience or community service can allow
a person to gain employability skills so they can get a
job. This type of work helps people to maintain a sense
of self-worth and build confidence.
15. Health and Fitness
1. Poor heath and fitness can contribute to low job
performance. What complications may result for
a worker due to poor job performance?
2. If a worker lost their job due to poor job
performance, how will this effect their social life
and family responsibilities?
3. When someone is unemployed, why is it better
for them to perform unpaid work whilst looking
for paid employment?
16. Support Networks & Support Systems
In times of unemployment it is good to develop a support
network and to find out about support systems that exist in your
community.
Support Networks
A support network is a group of people who can help you get a
job, offer advice, or act as mentors while you attempt to
establish yourself in life. People in your support network can:
• Help you with making decisions about your career path
• Motivate and guide you while you establish your career
• Support you with your job hunting through their contacts
• Help you understand the challenges you face and the skills
you need for employment.
17. Support Networks & Support Systems
Support Systems
Support Systems can be useful when looking for work, financial
support, further training, guidance and counselling. Agencies can
include:
• Group training companies
• CentreLink
• Job Network
• Skills training centres
• Tertiary institutions (TAFE, universities)
• Careers counselling
Questions
1. What sort of people would be suitable for you to include in
your support network when looking for work? Explain why
they would be suitable.
18. Economic Implications of Work and
Unemployment
An economy consists of the wealth and resources of a
country or region, especially in terms of the production
and consumption of goods and services.
The global economy has created enormous
opportunities for people living in Australian society. We
now conduct business and discuss government and
social issues on the world stage and this has led to
people pursuing international careers. So now, rather
than being an isolated country in the Southern
Hemisphere, Australia is part of the global community
and this has implications for the people who live in our
communities, both locally, and globally.
19. Economic Implications of Work and
Unemployment
The potential exists for people with the right
employability and self management skills to secure
employment in their own city or in another country.
The economic implications for Australia with this type
of workforce means that the economy keeps
moving, generating new ideas for capital growth and at
the same time, we have a workforce dedicated to
contributing to the economy.
20. Economic Implications of Work and
Unemployment
Work opportunities are not the same for all members of
our community. Some people in our society have
difficulties in accessing work for a number of reasons,
these include:
• Being unable to work at certain tasks because of
their cultural background.
• Missing out on education for large periods of time.
• Language barriers.
• Physical and mental disabilities
• Illness and disability.
The economic implications can include a large welfare
bill for our country.
21. Economic Implications of Work and
Unemployment
Review Questions:
1. What does ‘economy’ mean?
2. In what ways has the global economy created
opportunities for Australians?
3. What makes work opportunities unequal for all
members of our community?
23. Factors influencing the changing
nature of work organisation
• Socio-economic
• Technology
• Organisational
24. Factors influencing the changing
nature of work organisation
Socio-economic
At the end of WWII government policy on immigration
opened the way for migrants to come and live in
Australia where there was a desperate shortage of
skilled and unskilled labour. To this day immigration has
helped to stabilise our economy and continue to
provide a growing labour force with new
skills, increasing the size of the labour market, giving
Australia a competitive edge in the global economy.
New migrants continue to bring with them new ideas in
food, fashion and the arts, contributing to the rich
multicultural fabric of our society.
25. Factors influencing the changing
nature of work organisation
The last 40 years has seen an increase in women entering the
workforce creating opportunities for new industries such as
child care and personal services. Women have also changed
the way work is conducted. Employees in organisations now
mostly work in teams, pooling their skills and the company’s
resources to affect better work practices and conflicts in the
workplace are resolved using skills that result in a more
harmonious workplace.
The notion of working couples has developed due to
increasing housing prices and a higher cost of living. Working
couples contribute greatly to our growing economy by
spending their salaries on home improvements, child care
and personal services such as lawn mowing and house
cleaning.
26. Factors influencing the changing
nature of work organisation
Review Questions
1. List three benefits of immigration on our economy.
2. How can working as part of a team in an
organisation benefit a company?
3. What has led to the rise of services such as home
improvements, child care and personal services?
Why do you think this is so?
27. Factors influencing the changing
nature of work organisation
Technology
The way people worked 20-30 years ago has changed
dramatically with the increased development of
technological equipment. Technology has allowed
industries to increase productivity. For example,
machinery has allowed higher output because they can
work faster and more efficiently than manual labour.
Fewer workers are required to operate machinery,
which means company profits are not being eaten up by
payroll and this increases profit.
28. Factors influencing the changing
nature of work organisation
Questions
1. What are some other technologies that have
changed the workplace? How has the technology
changed the workplace?
2. Conduct a feasibility study on smartphones. Identify
the positives and negatives of smartphones for
businesses.
29. Factors influencing the changing
nature of work organisation
Organisational
Intensive research and study has been carried out on
how to improve the way labour works in factories and
the industry. As a result the terms ‘increasing
productivity’, ‘best practice’, and ‘total quality
management’ have become very important as a means
of enterprise efficiency and productivity savings. A key
example of the way businesses improve their
operations is the term ‘just in time’ management. This
means that a business does not have any extra stock
sitting around but only has enough material to
complete projects or products over a short production
cycle.
30. Factors influencing the changing
nature of work organisation
Review Question
1. Discuss some advantages and disadvantages of ‘just
in time’ management.
Advantages Disadvantages
31. Effects of the changing nature of
work organisation
Physical Work Environment
Advancement in technological equipment has meant
that machines have become:
• more sophisticated and smaller in size
• more efficient and cost effective.
This has allowed for workers to be free to attend to
other tasks.
32. Effects of the changing nature of
work organisation
Employee safety has become a major consideration in
the work environment with an increase in accidents on
construction sites and injury occurring through the use
of technology. National organisations such as
WorkCover have increased awareness and liability for
injuries ensuring that employers and government
agencies follow strict policies to protect their workers.
33. Effects of the changing nature of
work organisation
Activity
Visit the ABS website and find:
• The industries with the highest work-related injury or
illness rates.
• The industries with the lowest work-related injury or
illness rates.
• The top three types of injuries or illnesses sustained
at work
• The top three causes of workplace injuries.
34. Effects of the changing nature of
work organisation
Work Practices
The introduction of technology in the workplace has
caused a number of job losses as machines take over
the work of employees. E.g. typists replaced by
document template on computer.
Computerisation and automation in industries and
businesses can result in loss of employment. This means
that people in this situation need to retrain and develop
new skills to remain employable. At the same
time, computerisation and automation can create new
jobs. Retraining and developing new skills in the
workplace allows people to become multi-skilled
making them more employable.
35. Effects of the changing nature of
work organisation
As more and more women have entered the workforce
it has forced businesses and industries to accommodate
their needs. Some of these changes include:
• flexible working hours
• maternity and paternity leave for parents
• home-based work
• people owning their own businesses
36. Effects of the changing nature of
work organisation
Questions
1. What does ‘computerisation’ mean?
2. What does ‘automation’ mean?
3. How can computerisation and automation create
new jobs?
37. Effects of the changing nature of
work organisation
Information Technology
The growth in information technology services has
developed to improve work practices, saving companies time
and money with the ability to teleconference and video-
conference. This means that executives no longer need to fly
interstate or internationally to meet with co-workers or
people from other companies to discuss business
matters, thereby saving on aeroplane tickets and
accommodation.
The increasing number of computers in the workplace has
created a new industry and further opportunities for job
seekers. Computers break down, people working on the
computers need to be trained in how to use them and they
also need continual support in their day-to-day operation.
New jobs include computer technician, network
38. Effects of the changing nature of
work organisation
Question
List some of the advantages and disadvantages of
video-conferencing and teleconferencing.
Advantages Disadvantages
40. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Employability Skills
Employability skills are practical and intellectual abilities that
relate to a specific task. Skills such as a willingness to learn
and self management are cultivated in a young person’s
environment, in the community, at home and throughout
school life.
Employers expect that throughout their life, potential
employees will have developed proficient entry level skills
and competencies when they begin work.
Classroom learning at school incorporates activities that
enable students to develop skills and knowledge across a
range of subject areas. The skills and knowledge developed
at school are accepted by education and industry as being
the basic entry-level skills required in the workplace. This
gives students a sound advantage in securing employment.
41. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Activity
Create the table below and answer the following questions:
1. List the subjects you are studying at school.
2. List some of the skills and knowledge that you are/will
learn in these subjects.
3. How can these skills and knowledge developed benefit
you in the work environment
Subjects Skills and Knowledge How they will benefit
you in the work
environment.
42. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Enterprise Skills
These skills indicate that a person demonstrates
personal attributes that indicate leadership and
creativity, which can lead to developing the ability to
operate a business. Within the work environment, a
person who is enterprising is dynamic, shows initiative
and is self motivated. These skills are also valued
because these people need little guidance and projects
are always completed accurately and within time
frames.
43. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Personal Attributes
Employers identify personal attributes as contributing
significantly to a person’s ‘employability’ and should be
considered as a subset of overall employability skills.
Overall the different pathways available to students aim
to prepare them as workers for the diverse occupations
in the workforce and the many different enterprises
(businesses) that operate in our economy.
44. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Activity
Complete the questions below. Present your findings in
a table.
1. List five jobs that interest you.
2. Visit myfuture.edu.au to identify the personal
requirements of each job.
Job Personal Requirements
45. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Pathways to Employment
On successful completion of the HSC there are a
number of pathways open to students. These pathways
will depend on a number of variables including choice
of career, final results and finances to name a few.
Once a career is decided upon, it is important to
maintain perspective and to focus on the goal of
achieving the desired plan.
If at first you don’t succeed, look for another way
around the wall – don’t give up! There are lots of
alternative pathways to get to where you want to go.
47. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Pathways to Employment
If you miss out on admission to university, there may be
an equivalent course at TAFE that you can study instead
.
TAFE offer tertiary preparation courses that allow you to
apply for university again on successful completion.
If a person is not successful in getting the job they want,
they can try another, study a relevant course at TAFE or
do work experience/volunteer work to gain skills to get
a job.
48. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Recognition of Prior Learning
The notion of recognition of prior learning (RPL) has been
developed to enable a person to receive credit for
knowledge and skills previously attained in a subject or
through experience.
Previous learning and existing experience are both
recognised as having value. It is important that a person
keeps accurate records of what skills they have gained. TAFE
course may allow a person to have passed some courses in a
course and therefore less of the course units will have to be
completed to gain the full course accreditation. This is called
‘credit transfer’. Year 11 and 12 VET courses are an example
of this because the students who successfully complete
competencies will receive credit at TAFE.
49. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Activity
Visit https://www.tafensw.edu.au/courses/rpl/ and
answer the following questions:
1. Define the term articulation.
2. Define the term credit transfer.
3. Define the term recognition of prior learning.
50. Links between Education,
Training and Work
The Changing Nature of Training
One of the most significant initiatives to date has
occurred in high schools with the introduction of
Vocational Education and Training (VET). VET courses
allow students to receive dual accreditation in their
HSC. VET courses are designed to help prepare young
people for work and to address the current skill
shortages in industry.
VET courses allow for a number of courses delivered at
TAFE and private providers to be delivered at school by
trained teachers.
51. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Year 11 and 12 students are able to study nationally
recognised courses developed to an Australian industry
standard at a Certificate I or II level.
VET courses are competency-based courses. This means
that successful completion is determined by the
students ability to perform a set of specific tasks (Unit
of Competency and Elements of Competency).
53. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Education as a lifelong process
Lifelong learning can be defined as an
acknowledgement that continuous learning and
building of current skills and knowledge and attitudes
will happen throughout a lifetime. Young people
particularly are faced with the challenges of the 21st
century where the labour market, and the economy and
jobs that drive industry, is constantly changing. The
notion of 5-8 job or career changes over a lifespan is
very real. So too is the notion of lifelong study and
further training to equip themselves with the skills and
knowledge required to keep up with these changes.
54. Links between Education,
Training and Work
Learning and building skills over a time will occur in all
types of environments and will include educational
institutions, the workplace, the home, and the local and
global community. Education and learning will take
place informally, such as in a social setting, and formally,
as in the classroom.
