When our grandparents started in the workforce people tended to stay in the same job until retirement. These days, on average Australian workers change jobs three times every ten years. This translates to roughly 17 different employers and five different careers in a lifetime!

A job for life is something Aussie workers just don’t seem to want anymore. But even if you did want the same job for life, it would be an unlikely possibility – the digital age has transformed the job market forever.

Technology has replaced the likes of switchboard operators and film projectionists, and called into demand social media managers, cloud services specialists and app developers.

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So how do you prepare for a job market that is constantly changing?

The best way is to develop skills that are not going to be obsolete in 10 years’ time – or better yet – ever.

Transferable skills are abilities that aren’t technical or specific to a particular type of job or career. Rather, they are skills that your future employers are looking for such as:

  • communication skills: listening, public speaking, confidence to perform in the real world
  • collaboration skills: networking, teamwork, compromise, diplomacy
  • agility and flexibility to adapt to changing landscapes
  • analytical skills: problem solving and critical thinking
  • leadership abilities: motivating and directing
  • information-management skills: knowledge of relevant computer software and research.

While employers increasingly want people who possess these skills, they are finding that job-seeking graduates do not have them.

How can you get your hands on these skills?

The development of transferable skills requires a shift in education and as a student, you can’t control the way you’re taught. But you do have the power to choose an institution that prepares you for the jobs of today and tomorrow, in any workplace scenarios you encounter in between.

Victoria University’s award-winning Block Model is designed to enhance students on a scale never seen before in Australia; and fully develops transferable skills for its graduates.

Through hands-on, problem-based, work-integrated learning, smaller class sizes and greater opportunities for collaboration, students receive opportunities to hone their transferable skills and get the edge employers are looking for.

So you’ll gain the confidence and the skills to begin the career – or careers – of a lifetime.

Read more about VU's Block Model in The Age.

Block Model explained in 60 seconds - Transcript

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