As Australia struggles to overcome a dire skills shortage, steps must be taken to address one of the least talked-about but most significant underlying causes of this crisis.
If we want impressionable young minds to consider the full range of occupations on offer, including those currently in short supply, we should stop telling them to "follow your passion".
Skill shortages in the labour market result from a combination of factors, including shifts in market demands, changes in technology, a lack of education and training programs and evolving demographic trends.
The advice we provide young adults in the form of "follow your passion" dissuades them from choosing less "glitzy" jobs, which might be in demand, and thereby worsens our existing skills gap. Those less flashy but important roles include the registered nurse, motor mechanic, construction manager, aged care worker, gardener, electrician, mining engineer and a host of others.
While encouraging individuals to pursue their passion career is well intentioned, we need to start seeing things as they really are. How many of us actually get to live out childhood fantasies of becoming an acclaimed musician, a sought-after brain surgeon, an award-winning actor, a world-recognised artist, a famous climate change scientist or an Olympic swimmer? Just a very few. For every individual who can pair their passion with a profession there are 10 to 20 others who find themselves far from this ideal.
Yet desperate to say the right thing, we persist as parents, grandparents, career advisers, teachers, mentors and friends to advise young people to "do what you love and you'll never work another day in your life", "follow your heart" and "chase your dreams". It is advice that is fundamentally flawed.
The most practical advice is to help young adults find 'a good-enough job'.
Encouraging young adults to base their career choices solely on their passions can set up unrealistic expectations. It can also lead to disappointment for those who are in jobs they might find enjoyable or satisfying but not necessarily fulfilling their passion.
The guidance fails to take into account that not all passions will translate into jobs which pay the bills, confuses the fact being passionate about something is not the same as being good at it and fails to consider most of us do not end up discovering what our passions are until much later in life.
Besides, it is clear the top in-demand occupations - while likely to include elements that inspire passion - are best described as satisfying, meaningful or purposeful rather than "passion-perfect". It is also worth considering that once a passion becomes a means to an income, some of the allure attached to a passion-worthy career is lost.
While it might sound harsh, our clumsy career advice has inadvertently contributed to a generation of unsettled young individuals, who grapple with career confusion and constantly shift from one job to another in pursuit of an elusive passion-driven career. Not every job will support an individual's financial and physical needs and simultaneously satisfy their spiritual, mental and emotional expectations.
For most of us, earning a living and actually living - or following one's passion - end up being separate pursuits.
All of that begs the question: if we do not guide young adults to pursue their passions when choosing an occupation, what should we tell them?
The most practical advice is to help young adults discover "a good-enough job".
A good-enough job is one they can do well and that will provide them with a sense of satisfaction, meaning or purpose. It is the type of occupation that an individual will be content to engage in for about 40 hours a week and which pays their bills.
If we want to keep things real, we should reserve the corny cliche "find your passion" for those seeking their life partner.
- Professor Gary Martin is a workplace and social trends specialist. He is the chief executive officer of the Australian Institute of Management WA.
