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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

most Australians chose a career on "flimsy criteria". "No science is applied and more often than not people's career paths are left to chance

Workers unhappy in their job | Business Sense | News.com.au

MORE Australians are unhappy in their chosen careers, and nearly 65 per cent are looking to move, a poll has revealed.
The survey, commissioned by recruitment firm Chandler Macleod, finds half of all workers did not plan their careers but fell into them. Sixty four per cent are looking to move.

Chandler Macleod executive director Kevin Chandler said most Australians chose a career on "flimsy criteria".

"No science is applied and more often than not people's career paths are left to chance," he said.

"Not only does Australia have an escalating skills shortage, we have millions of people who are working in jobs they are not suited to and, as a result, are either actively or passively looking for other career opportunities without knowing what they really want."

The survey found three-in-four workers reported being pigeonholed by employers because of their current jobs or careers.

The university-educated (86 per cent) were more likely to feel pigeonholed by their career than those without a tertiary degree (70 per cent).
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Of the 25 per cent of workers who actively plan their careers or professions, more than 80 per cent were satisfied with their jobs.

While more students are going to university, the dropout rates are around 20 per cent, partly because many have selected the wrong courses. Of those who go into apprenticeships nearly 50 per cent drop out.

Findings of the research, conducted last month among 648 workers aged 18 to 64, have been released to coincide with the launch of CMyPeople, an online competency assessment system that matches people to jobs.

The program evaluates a person's ability, personal style and interest against an unlimited number of custom job profiles, and more than 1200 standard occupations from the Australian and New Zealand Standards Classification of Occupations.

CMyPeople will be launched in Sydney today by Federal Employment Participation Minister Brendan O'Connor to address skills shortages.

The system is the result of a four-year program involving Chandler Macleod consultants, psychologists, the Federal Government, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Council of Australia and more than 200 organisations which helped identify skills required by industries.

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