UPSKILLED - BLOG ARTICLES

(Posted under marketing specialist Vanessa Ciabatti, written by me.)

Empowering caregivers - Australia's aged care sector gets a significant wage rise

On the 15th of March, 2024, Australian aged care workers made history by winning wage increases of up to 28% – a landmark decision by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) after years of advocacy by the Health Services Union (HSU). Gerard Hayes, HSU national president, aptly describes this achievement as “wage justice” and a crucial step towards ensuring dignity and respect for aged care workers.

Stay Safe Online – Australia’s Cybersecurity Trends for 2024

Cyber security has never been a more prevalent trend than in recent years, with 2024 boding plenty of new trends and changes – both good and bad. The surging rates of cyber crime show no signs of slowing; but with new tools and technological advancements underway, businesses will be well-equipped to stave off these threats and make the most of emerging developments.

Here's How to Establish Your Personal Brand in 2024

As you map out your career goals for 2024, it may help to also invest in your professional image. Alternatively known as your “personal brand”, this acts as a distinct signature that sets you apart from others in the modern job market. When done right, you may just gain the recognition necessary to move up in your industry.

Make a Difference: Here are the Top 8 Jobs to Pursue in Community Services

Those who reap fulfilment from helping those in need will find no better career path than one in community services. This field serves as the backbone of support systems in Australia, comprising roles dedicated to making a positive impact on individual lives and families.

Beat the Rush: Why You Should Upskill Before the New Year

As 2023 comes to a close, it may be worth adding an important resolution to your list: upgrading your current set of professional skills. With all industry needs changing at an unpredictably rapid pace, keeping your expertise sharp, competitive, and in-demand is vital to continue climbing the career ladder.

Budgeting 101: Managing Your Money

As Australia grapples with its rising costs of living, money management and budgeting has never been more critical. According to recent ABS statistics, the country’s Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) have witnessed a surge in the 12 months to the June 2023 quarter – spiking from 6.3% to 9.6%. These unexpected increases involve a wide spectrum of essential expenses; from housing and utilities to groceries and healthcare, placing immense pressure on the average Australian's wallet.

Digital Literacy: Online Learning, AI, ChatGPT and more

“Digital literacy” refers to the ability to confidently navigate the digital world, making it an increasingly crucial asset in today’s tech-savvy society. Australia, like much of the globe, has witnessed an unprecedented surge in technological development, with nearly all Australians embracing the use of digital tools in their daily lives. It’s important to not only harness their benefits, but to also understand the best practices for ensuring online safety and security.

5 ways side hustles can help you climb the career ladder

Research shows that one in four full-time employees already have a passion project on the side; with business adviser Brian Dorricott predicting this to be an employment norm in years to come. With the flexibility of modern-day jobs and online technologies, pursuing a side business has become more feasible than ever.

4 careers for great problem-solvers

In an interview for Smart Company, Stephen Barnes – a business strategist from Byronvale Advisors – states that “everything in business is about providing a solution to a problem”. The ability to problem-solve is an undoubtedly valuable skill among employers on a worldwide scale, ranking as number one on the QS Global Employer Survey for 2018.

Accepting a job for less money: when is it worth it?

Accepting jobs for a pay cut have become increasingly common among Australian workers, provided they cater to the now-evolved priorities of modern-day workers.

Before we dive into the reasons for accepting jobs with less pay, let’s explore a common question among beginner job seekers.

4 important qualities of a sales representative

Australia’s sales representative industry is currently a massive one, consisting of over 95,000 workers as of 2018. Prospects are looking up for anyone aspiring to this role, with SEEK statistics stating a positive job growth increase in the years to 2023. This increase is estimated to consist of approximately 80,000 job openings – about 16,000 a year.

How online education can help you save money and time

In an increasingly digital world, the rise of online education opportunities isn’t an all-too surprising one. The industry has amassed more than three billion dollars in Australia, consisting of over 1,000 online education providers. With constant technological developments underway, – such as the rollout of NBN Internet and improvements to mobile technology, – this number’s only set to increase in the coming years.

What we can learn from offices switching to a four-day week

In 2018, New Zealand-based company Perpetual Guardian decided to trial the effects of implementing a four-day work week. The experiment was supervised over two months, yielding some surprisingly positive results – including a productivityincrease of up to 20 percent.

Graduating high school: your next steps

There are two common pathways people often take after their Year 12 graduation: finding immediate work, or pursuing collegiate studies. A high school diploma already sways the odds in your favour: students who have successfully completed their secondary education are more likely to succeed in further study, earn higher wages, and are better equipped to take on future challenges.

4 secrets to landing your first job

Whether you’re fresh out of high school or wrapping up the ends of your 4-year, undergraduate student journey; chasing down your dream career sets a fire in your belly like no other. But landing that ideal gig won’t be as easy as showing up at the company’s doorstep, and you’ve likely got about 60 to 250 other applicants to compete with.

What to do when you’re in a career slump

Most jobs start out as a new, exciting opportunity laden with career possibilities – and for the lucky among us, they may just stay that way.

Unfortunately, most Australians were recently reported to experience ‘boredom’ and disengagement with their work, with a 2018 report by Business Insider revealing that a whopping 87% of us experience such a slump.

The benefits of a working holiday

Studies show that working holiday visitors spend over $10,000 per trip to Australia, about two and a half times more than they earn. This has contributed billions to the Australian economy and has created tens of thousands of new jobs for Australians.

Why should you consider mixing online and campus study in your Bachelor's degree

Where learning was once a solely on-campus experience, students of tertiary Australian education now have the option of exclusively online courses, or a combination of both. This style of education is known as “blended learning”, and is, in fact, the most popularly desired form of study among university (or soon-to-be-university) students in Australia.

Working from home – 5 ways to earn a living from home in Australia

The idea of spending each working day on your own schedule, on your own couch (or home office), sipping away on a cup of coffee as you type away in your pajamas, can seem like the ideal job for many. In fact, the ABS shows that almost a third of all Australian workers have pursued this type of working lifestyle: reports reveal that nearly 3.5 million employed people regularly work from home, either in their job or own business.

Why team building is so important

Your employees are the most crucial gears of your business – so it pays to have them be their mental, emotional, and physical best while at work.

The process of team-building helps do just this. A practice that nearly all businesses value; encouraging a team mindset among employees does wonders for their overall performance, innovation, and engagement with the responsibilities of their role.

Top 5 skills you need as a freelancer

With the rising number of millennials embracing the “gig economy”, and more businesses open to outsourcing expertise, freelancers may just be the workforce of the future. It’s possible to gain a lucrative career out of “being your own boss” – but of course, this comes with having a crucial set of both soft and technical skills under your belt.

How often should you change jobs?

With the future of Australian jobs only set to expand, workers are provided even more opportunity for career changes, should they find themselves a better fit. There is estimated to be 886,000 more jobs by 2023, and plenty of these openings can be credited to workers switching one job for another.

Why pursue further study - 5 long-term benefits for your career and personal life

Wherever you are in life – be it fresh out of high school or an established expert in your field – pursuing further study will always provide both personal and professional value.

In just the first half of 2018, the Australian government reported over 1,300,000 students enrolled in higher education.

4 tips for making friends on your first week of work

Whether you’re hopping back on the career train after a long vacation, maternity leave, or formal study – settling back into the workforce can be an intimidating experience for many.

Are my skills still relevant? What if the hours are overwhelming? Am I up-to-speed with all the new industry trends?

4 of the best - feature Q&A from main site

When it comes to upskilling and further study, studies have shown individuals experiencing that much-needed career ‘boost’ soon after, opening the doors to professional success. In fact, 78% of vocational study graduates in Australia were reported to land a job after their course, and 45.8% reported a promotion in their employment status.

Weren't the best in high school? Here's how you can make up for it

If you’re still set on attending your dream university, we’ve also got a few tips on other possible methods of entry that don’t necessarily zero in on impressive ATAR scores. As a 2018 article by the ABC states, “Universities are more open than ever before, so the idea of an orderly, if highly competitive, single-file queue as the only means of entry is outdated.”

4 ways to connect with others as an online student

Diving into the world of online studies can be daunting for a variety of reasons – having to set your own study schedule, manage everything in the digital space, and ensuring all your technological requirements are met, to name a few – but what may prove as one of its biggest challenges is the absence of face-to-face communication amongst both teachers and fellow classmates.

5 signs a VET course might suit you better than a uni degree

Thinking of hitting the books to chase down that career you’ve always wanted? While the common idea of ‘tertiary education’ is to work through a three-year university course for that Bachelor’s degree, you may find that alternative options may suit you and your career goals better.

The millennial’s guide to saving money in 2019

Here’s a rather unsettling millennial fact to add to the day: it turns out, according to the Australian credit bureau and data insights company, Experian – that young Australians have become the most ‘in-debited’ group in the country with many willing to take on strikingly high levels of debt.

4 steps to regaining a successful work mindset after the holidays

Regaining a work mindset can often seem like a bit of a struggle after a break.Now that the “silly season” has come to an end, the hubbub of Christmas and New Years’ is over, and it’s time to settle back into a steady work or study routine.

What are Australia’s most in-demand skills for 2019?

What in-demand skills will you need for 2019 and beyond? With the new year comes the opportune time to start upgrading your resume. Whether you’re hunting down those job opportunities or are simply looking to upskill as an employee, it can pay off to investigate the skills set to spike in employment value for the coming months ahead.

Why you should job search during the holidays

While it may make sense to lay off until mid-January with everyone in vacation mode, the holiday season can actually bring about a myriad of job-hunting advantages for those who keep at it.

Feeling bored? Take a break with one of these hidden internet gems

Whether you’re scrambling through Word document after Word document or entering the umpteenth formula into your Excel spreadsheet, we can’t deny that sometimes, we do need that 5 or 10-minute distraction to help our brain recharge.

The benefits of a good night's sleep on your studies

While it can be tempting to go into all-out panic mode and just shoehorn every bit of information you can into one entire night’s worth of study, tackling those exams or assessments on total sleep deprivation will not only hamper your ability to retain important data – but wreck your overall academic performance.

How to overcome writers block for an essay

Whether you’re looking forward to it or not (and let’s be honest, you probably aren’t) – you’re going to have to write an essay at some point in your academic career. You could be in university, undertaking online courses, or even getting through your final months of Year 12; the intimidation of writing an essay is very much a real, and sadly, mandatory task for many of us.

How to make time for work and your hobbies

Apart from spending 40 hours a week working for the big guy, most of us have unique interests on the side that we’d love to give our free time to. Problem is; between working 9-5, doing that daily train commute and scrambling to find at least 7 hours of quality sleep, it can be quite the challenge to find enough time for your favourite pastimes or personal goals.

1 minute career guide - Education

Even if you think you know what you would like your next career step to be, it is always a good idea from time to time, to have a look at other options. The Australian government produces lots of statistics about work and employment, and reading industry blogs can be a great way to find out more about from people who really know their stuff, they are also a good way to gain useful information before an interview).

6 careers for those who get bored easily

Plenty of people get weary with their job in only a short span of time – but luckily, there are a handful of careers out there that would work perfectly for those who require an exciting change of pace.