The peak body is asking for ideas on what to do about it

The HASS academic workforce is ageing, with 50 per cent over 50, but there may not be enough academics to replace them, with young scholars too often imprisoned in the precariat. This is a problem, warns the Australian Academy of the Humanities, given the “core knowledge and training” HASS disciplines provide for workers in tourism, international education and finance, “industries that are both critical to the Australian economy and in which we are regarded as a global leader.”

The academy addresses the future for HASS in a discussion paper, now out for consultation and focusing on three issues;

* support for humanities early career researchers

* “future knowledge, skills and capabilities for a productive humanities workforce”

* diversity, gender equity

The discussion paper argues, “the capabilities generated through humanities training are the foundation of a competent and agile workforce”. Which sets out a big issue for discussion;

“how to address the current misalignment between perception and reality in how humanities skills relate to employer requirements across academic and other sectors is therefore fundamental to any effort to move beyond common biases associated with the employability of humanities graduates and researchers.”