Introduction

Introduction

The Australian Curriculum: Work Studies, Years 9–10 has been written in response to key work-related issues facing young people today and into the future. This is a world-leading, future-oriented curriculum, equal in quality, value and rigour to more traditional academic programs. It is designed for all students, whether they pursue a vocational or an academic path.

Rapid technological advances are impacting on work and will reshape its future. Technological change has led to increased digitisation and automation, and influences the way we communicate. The resulting globalisation affects how, where, when and why people work.

Australian industries and enterprises face unprecedented global competition and pressure for increased productivity. This, in turn, contributes to an unpredictable work future for young people, where routine job opportunities are limited, and outsourcing, contract work and flexible work arrangements are the norm. School leavers can no longer anticipate a single job or single-track career for a lifetime and will be encountering jobs which currently do not exist.

The skills and capabilities needed to prosper in this new, knowledge-focused world will differ from those of the past. Young people will need a set of personal and interpersonal capacities, wide-ranging global awareness and the flexibility to manage rapid change and transition.

Work Studies Years 9–10 is an applied learning curriculum that adapts discipline-based learning to work contexts. This requires a variation in the approach to curriculum design and content descriptions and elaborations, as they need to be active. It also allows for a cross-curriculum disciplinary mode of delivery.