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The following article was originally published by Wendy Perry of Workforce Blueprint, and is republished here with permission.

It’s an obvious but fascinating fact that there are jobs we might be doing in the future, that don’t exist yet.  With employees working from locations at every corner of the globe, collaborating via the internet, at every minute of the day… the future is now.

Telecommuting and remote working is becoming more and more common and according to Deloitte, over 30% of workspaces are vacant during the day.  As a result, progressive companies are adopting flexible working practices and encouraging employees to work from home or coworking spaces.  This means it’s not just the work that’s changing; it’s where we’re choosing to work, that’s changing too – the entire workplace landscape.

Current skills such as communication and teamwork may be replaced with future skills including sense making, cross cultural competency and social influence.  With technology changing not just jobs, but also the hours and place we work, computational thinking, new media literacy, virtual collaboration and cognitive load management skills will be critical.

Future-proof Jobs and New Jobs

There will be jobs taken over by robots and automation in the next two decades, including both high-paying and low-skilled workers.  These positions include commercial pilots, legal work, technical writing, telemarketers, accountants, retail workers, and real estate sales agents, according to a recent article in The Economist.

However, there are careers that will open up in the next decade.  According to Hays regional director Adam Shapley, architecture, healthcare, insurance, legal, marketing, sales, and financial planning jobs are already in high demand.  Construction managers, medical and health services managers, sales representatives, vocational and registered nurses, market research and marketing specialists, software systems developers, teachers, and specialist physicians will also be thriving careers – as the Business Insider predicts.

In 10 years, Australia’s health care and social assistance is projected to increase by up to 798,000 jobs, with professional, scientific and technical services up to 583,000 and education and training up to 503,700.

Australia will have new jobs that don’t currently exist, but the people we’ll need the most are already known.  It is predicted that Registered Nurses will become the most in demand profession by 2025, due to the ageing population and evolving technology.  As a result, new avenues will open up in technical, professional and managerial areas.

Based on projections from this year’s Australia’s Future Workforce? report, Australia will have between 5.6 million and 6.4 million job openings in Australia in the next decade to 2025.

Nurses are already in high demand in Australia, with projections showing it is expected to become the fastest growing occupation by 2050.  Alongside nursing, aged and disabled care, child carers, welfare support workers are also noted as top vocational and trade jobs in the future. 

But what about the jobs that don’t exist just yet? Here are five predicted vacancies:

1. Future Currency Speculator

The growing virtual currency market will certainly need experts, one of which will be the future currency speculator.

2. Productivity Counsellors

These counsellors will give advice on everything from wellness to time management, in order to enable workers to prove their value to employers.

3. Microbial Balancer

As concerns over dangerous bacterial agents increase and new forms of bacteria are discovered, trained balancers will be needed to assess their microbial composition.

4. Crowdfunding Specialist

With the popularity of crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, there’s a growing need for expert advisers to help fundraisers promote their causes.

5. Privacy Consultant

New technology begets new privacy concerns, so in the future people will require expert assistance to manage and safeguard their digital information.

The Future: Looking through the Lens

With routine jobs like bookkeeping and factory work being replaced by technology, Hays Recruitment managing director Nick Deligiannis suggests looking for jobs where technology increases productivity, rather than replaces the worker.

“Demand for labour in routine low-skilled occupations that computers and machines cannot replace, like cooking, cleaning, building or driving, has increased.

So, the middle group of semi-skilled workers will get squeezed out in this ‘hour glass’ phenomenon as employment rises at the top and bottom ends of the skills ladder.”

An example used was that of a mechanic, which technology is turning it into a low skill role the productivity and the better pay is now at the front desk, using hands-on knowledge to improve customer relations.

Mr Deligiannis emphasised looking towards the growth industries of health and education where jobs cannot be outsourced.

“We would also advise them to focus on sectors where developed nations have an advantage, such as pharmaceuticals and business services, or that involve face-to-face contact, such as healthcare and education since these cannot be outsourced to developing nations.”