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Meeting the demands of work, now and in the future

Meeting the demands of work, now and in the future

Last updated 2 April 2019
Last updated 2 April 2019

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) commissioned research to help us understand the skills needs, preferences and demands of employers in New Zealand so that we can improve how we match skills in the future. Hidden Links, New Opportunities: How big data and job clusters can improve the 1.2 million job matches in NZ each year uses big data, based on analysis of more than one million job ads, employment trends and skill profiles in New Zealand.

The findings show that employers look for a range of often transferrable skills and workers can use their skills across a cluster of jobs in many different industries.

“We all know that global changes to the way we work are heading our way and this fourth Industrial Revolution will see rapid adoption of technology in industry and society. To take advantage of the opportunities that come with these technologies, we need to identify and build on our current set of skills,” said TEC Chief Executive Tim Fowler.

“This research is a part of the work that we’re doing as the Government’s career service to support all New Zealanders to raise their education levels, and skills and aspirations to meet the demands of work, now and in the future. This isn’t something we can achieve alone, and we are working with colleagues across government, education and business, and with other partners, on education and career information and tools to help New Zealanders.”

Hidden Links, New Opportunities: How big data and job clusters can improve the 1.2 million job matches in NZ each year (PDF 4.5 MB)