USQ educator talks about the importance of adaptability

A USQ educator has advised city students on how to face a COVID-19 ‘career shock,’ where their chosen future industry has been impacted by the pandemic.

High school students across the city will have to be adaptable in the coming years, according to a university educator, as they face into a “career shock” caused by the pandemic.

University of Southern Queensland career and employability educator Michael Healy said many career pathways had seemingly disappeared or grown overnight during the pandemic.

“COVID-19 has been what we would call a career shock, similar to the financial crisis,” Mr Healy said.

“The effect is that people’s plans, or what they thought the future would look like, has changed dramatically, which can be very traumatic.”

He said aviation, tourism and hospitality were some of the career pathways negatively impacted by the pandemic, while others industries had flourished.

“A lot of aviators are turning to agriculture, resources, logistics, and so forth,” he said.

“Tourism and hospitality were also impacted but a lot of places are discovering new markets.

“Technology industries have done well and health has come into the spotlight.

“Another growth area is trade and commerce, particularly because this has been a very challenging time, so those industries have needed people to be able to solve those problems.”

When asked for advice, Mr Healy said it was important for students to “explore different options”.

“Don’t be afraid to try new things, even if they might seem a little bit out of the box,” he said.

“Maybe take some elective subjects that you might have not thought of as being crucial.

“Career planning can be a double edged sword – because if you have a fixed plan when something like COVID-19 happens it can mean you’re left with not a lot.

“However, if you’ve got a variety of things in mind or a variety of experiences to reflect on then you’re more able to adapt and change course.”

As students prepare to head back to school next week, Mr Healy said it was important to understand the pandemic hadn’t been all “doom and gloom”.

“The southeast Queensland region is pretty strong,” he said.

“There’s a lot of innovation happening in various industries, including agriculture, resources, infrastructure and manufacturing, and there’s a lot of support from the government in terms of helping certain industries through this crisis.

“So definitely look around at what’s happening in the area, because we are lucky here.”