Occupation Outlook: checking out job and training opportunities

The 2017 Occupation Outlook is a free mobile app designed to help job seekers and students make good study and career decisions.

Launched in February by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the app offers easy-to-use overviews of job prospects, income levels, and training requirements for different occupations across the vocational pathways.

In 2013 the Occupation Outlook was published as a hard-copy report, covering information on 50 different job prospects. By 2015 MBIE had had created a mobile app aimed at students and those who support them as they move through their training and career decision.

The beauty of presenting the content as an app is that the information can be continually updated, creating a relevant and useful tool for young people navigating a continually changing workforce.

“This year the app is more user-friendly and more functional,” says Ben Wallace, MBIE’s leader on the app development."

“We can now easily make continual changes and updates to the content throughout the year, so it’s always up-to-date and relevant.”

He says the app users will receive push notifications to let them know when information has been added or updated.

“So far, the app has been downloaded over 30,000 times, and we would love more students, parents and educators to know about it,” says Ben.

Aimed at secondary school students and their parents and school careers advisors, but also important for Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako, the tool is informed by the latest data produced by MBIE, including the skills shortage list used by Immigration New Zealand.

“It gives young people and Kāhui Ako leaders an idea of what occupations are in demand – it’s more than just anecdotal information – it’s data driven and informed by the newest information we’re getting.”

This year, Occupation Outlook contains 108 occupations, up from 60 last year, to cover 90 per cent of employment in the labour market.

The app has also been upgraded to enable sorting of occupations by income, fees and job prospects dials, and includes a new matching tool users can use to generate occupations that match their current or desired skill levels in 12 broad subject areas.

Occupation Outlook is now available on the Apple iTunes App Store and on Android Google Play. The updated app is designed to help job seekers and students make good study and career decisions.

Occupation Outlook can be found on the MBIE website(external link)