2. Why the study of
Digital Technologies
is crucial for the future career
prospects of your children
Paul Herring
M.Sc (Physics), Dip. Tchg, Cert IV, MACS (Snr) CP
HOD Digital Solutions & Technologies
Somerville House
3. Watch these short videos first:
• https://youtu.be/JdQPKDC5-t4
• https://youtu.be/59d3UZTUFQ0
5. The World Has Changed:
We are at the beginning of a major Technology surge:
Resulting in:
a) the Digitization of more and more
information, goods, and services,
b) Globalisation
- telecommunications,
- transportation,
- networks and standards.
c) Intelligent Systems
– Machine Learning
& Robotics
A little new Science
Computing power increases/Moore’s Law
Data explosion
Democratization of
• Knowledge
• Digital Power
• Innovation
Leading to:
• Disruption of Industries
• Displacement of workers
• Dematerialization of the economy
6. The World of Work is SERIOUSLY Changing:
From the last video:
Jobs that may soon be redundant, according to WEF (2018) include:
• Lawyers
• Accountants and Auditors
• Financial Analysts
- World Economic Forum ‘The Future of Jobs Report 2018’
7. Conflicting
Predictions:
The Brookings Institute's findings are vast and far-reaching but the headline is that
half of the jobs for 16-24 year-olds will be replaced
by automation and artificial intelligence
in the coming years as over 70 percent of the tasks involved are prime for automation.
8. Self-driving Vehicles: 10-15% globally by 2030; almost all in 25 years & then possibly illegal
to drive!
The generation of students here today may be the very last to be allowed to drive on our
roads!
9. ”20 years ago, if you wanted to
cure cancer, you would have
gone into medicine, but if you
want to cure cancer today you
should go into software
engineering.
The possibilities are endless.”
- Anna Emerson,
(ex- student)
& Google Software Engineer
10. The famous Game 2 Move 37:
Lee Sodel loses to Alpha Go & overnight the world changed!
11.
12. Artificial Intelligence: Machine Learning & Robotics
• Within 10-15 years, nearly 40% of Australian jobs will be automated.
• “Using complex algorithms, Australian businesses are programming computers to analyse, learn and action vast
volumes of data to help
• combat credit card fraud,
• speed up new medicine discoveries or
• even improve your online shopping experience,”
• “We’re seeing robotics AI in the form of
• driverless trucks that improve safety for Australian mine workers,
• autonomous machines manufacturing high-tech products
• and even a robotic pharmacist being used at a Perth hospital to order and dispense lifesaving drugs,”
Educational change needed:
• Australia is ranked last in the world when it comes to accessing the skills needed to deploy AI technologies.
14. EY’s Digital Mining Report:
• Robotics and Automation through drones, autonomous vehicles and
remote-controlled operational systems will be rolled out more widely to
enhance exploration efforts and mining operations. These innovations are
predicted to redesign traditional occupations … [leading to a need for]…
greater skills in contemporary data and digital technologies.
• There will be increasing demand for Data and Digital literacy skills across
all phases of the mining value chain …
• Cloud computing, information sharing and big data continue to change
the nature of work and enable integrated operating centres so more work
can be performed remotely and more flexibly.
15. EY’s Mining Report:
… there is consensus that skills requiring greater degrees of task creative intelligence,
social intelligence, and perception and manipulation …
Skills needed include:
• Change Management
• Collaboration
• Complex Stakeholder Engagement
• Creativity
• Data Analysis
• Data and Digital Literacy
• Design Thinking
• Stakeholder Analysis
• Strategic Planning
16. And in Australia:
• Australia’s big banks have reduced their workforces by
20,000+ people in the last few years with more yet to come.
• Telstra reducing their contractors by some 10,000 over the
next two years.
• BUT:
Australia’s ICT workforce is forecast to grow by almost 100,000
in the coming years, and 27% of that growth will be in ICT
technical and professional roles.
17. • IT professionals have once again topped the list of highest earners in
Australia, thanks to high demand and a shortage of skilled workers.
• Hays recruitment salary guide
• Cyber security is one of the most highly paid and in-demand skillsets in IT.
• Also Big Data was deemed a skills area in high demand for 2019.
• Specific experience with Python, SQL, R, and Hadoop were in particularly
high demand in order to help organisations leverage the masses of data
they collect.
• Data Scientists can earn upwards of $240,000 per year
• Data Modellers > $100,000 per year in each Australian capital city.
18. • Along with the proliferation of data across the world, innovative ways of
expressing and interpreting this data can produce unexpected results.
• High profile instances of Big Data being successful where traditional analytics
failed.
• Examples include:
• The 2016 USA Election - Brad Parscale (Digital Director) & Angad Bathia (ex-student & India Times CEO)
• The 2019 federal election
only help to raise the value of these already sought-after skillsets.
“As IT continues to evolve from a ‘keeping the lights on’ function to an enabler of
transformation, companies are seeking candidates who understand business
drivers,”
“In addition, the changing technical landscape means candidates need to have a
continuous learning mindset and the ability to adapt to emerging technologies
and changing business needs.”
19. AI should also help create new jobs that focus on
servicing and leveraging AI & Automation:
Example:
The replacement of human pilots by drones has eliminated some jobs but created
many new opportunities in:
• maintenance,
• remote control,
• data analysis and
• cyber security.
• The US armed forces need 30 people to operate every unmanned Predator or
Reaper drone flying over Syria, while analysing the resulting harvest of
information occupies at least 80 people more.
26. 3 of the Job
Clusters are
predicted to
have very strong
growth:
• Carers
• Informers
• Technologists
27. Jobs Queensland
Jobs Queensland recently published economic modelling of three workforce
scenarios it considered likely by 2022.
Among their findings:
… Over 50 per cent of all new workers are projected to be employed in just
three industries:
1. health care and social assistance (Carers);
2. professional, scientific and technical services; and
3. education and training (both Informers).
28.
29. These stats need to be seriously reflected on! The major need is really in IT.
30. Computer Science +
• Most high skill occupations of the future will involve the need for significant Computer
Science/Digital Technology skills.
• So the secret to success for our current students in their desired fields is to maintain and
continually enhance their digital skills
Today, computer science (CS) skills are required across business, arts, humanities,
design, biology, health, sustainability, sports, physics and more.
Some examples of degrees::
>> art practice + CS
>> CS + classics
>> CS + comparative literature
>> CS + science
>> CS + English
>> CS + languages
>> CS + business studies
>> CS + music
>> CS + linguistics
31.
32. Data Scientist UX Designer
New jobs
require new
educational
pathways &
new skills
33. • Whatever your future career aspirations may be it is almost certain that good skills in
IT, and especially the more complex, and sophisticated skills developed through
Computer Science courses (such as Digital Solutions) will be a core and crucial part of
your career and occupations.
• Don’t do Digital Solutions because its
• very creative,
• highly paid,
• very diverse,
• flexible,
• interesting, important, and
• often life changing,
• Rather do it to be:
• Employable & employed
Computer Science+
aka Digital Solutions
35. Masters of the Universe – Big Tech Companies
But it’s not just machines we
need to be concerned about:
We are now losing the
democratization of the ‘public
square’ that is the Internet.
Even Prof. Tim Berners-Lee,
the inventor of the World Wide
Web, is seriously concerned.
We are seeing increasing
censorship of free speech, &
esp. of biblical and
conservative voices.
We cannot outsource our responsibilities to machines.
We must hold on ever tighter to human values and human ethics.” -
Zeynep Tufekci, Techno-sociologist
36.
37. 10 Hottest IT Jobs in 2019
1. Data scientist
2. Cybersecurity analyst
3. Java developer
4. Full-stack developer
5. Front-end developer
6. DevOps engineer
7. App developer
8. Cloud architect
9. Digital project manager
10. Embedded engineer