Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor … What are the most in-demand jobs for 2016? None of those for a start.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals that admin and support services roles have been growing continuously since November 2014, with 36,000 new jobs brought into the market. These kinds of jobs are a positive sign that businesses are throwing their weight into new and upcoming projects, says Andrew Morris, director of recruitment firm Robert Half.

Turning to recruitment website SEEK, the e-commerce and construction sectors are buoyant and will remain strong in 2016. SEEK analysed job ads from the past 12 months to predict the roles that are likely to experience the largest growth in volume (number of job ads placed) and demand (job ads growing faster than applications) this year. At the top of their list are front-end programmers, with demand for this role growing by 22 per cent in the past 12 months and currently outstripping supply. Presumably, the pay for their skills makes up for the fact they are saddled with one of the ugliest job titles in the job market with the exception of a back-end programmer.

Rather gratifyingly, the second job experiencing the biggest growth goes back to biblical times. Carpenters are big right now, and it’s safe to say that Joseph, if he were alive today, would have no trouble finding room at the inn – in fact, he’d probably be there to do some renovation work. Carpenters have experienced a 40 per cent year-on-year growth thanks to the construction industry and real estate market, which is fuelled primarily by an ongoing surge in apartment and residential complex builds.

The real estate boom is also behind the demand for site managers, who come in at number three in SEEK’s table. While there has been a steady decline for these positions in the mining and resources industry, demand for site managers as a whole has been buoyed by prolific urban construction of residential and non-residential buildings.

Another good sign of business confidence is the appearance of account managers on the growth list. Sophisticated sales professionals are in demand, as there will always be a place for people who can demonstrate commercial acumen, and articulate the value and return on investment of the solutions they are selling in order to acquire and nurture clients.

Being forewarned is forearmed, so if you are student considering embarking on a university degree in the near future – or a parent of one – David Cvetkovski from Fusion Graduate Consultancy has some knowledge. Unsurprisingly, commerce degrees, particularly those with a legal component, are highly sought after right now. The HR specialist says bachelors of commerce with majors in business and a sub-major in management, economics, finance or accounting are always very popular degrees with employers.

Technology degrees such as computer science and information technology are in demand as well, with female students especially well placed after graduation as companies seek to make themselves more diverse and inclusive. Cvetkovski told the Huffington Post: “Females in technology are probably the most sought after candidate in the Asia Pacific at the moment. Computer science or bachelor of information technology are the most employable.”

Last but not least, an HR or psychology degree is another good choice, says Cvetkovski, particularly if you’re a man. “I run an assessment centre for HR and if I’ve got 20 candidates in there, all of them 25-years-of-age, there’s often only one bloke. So if he’s any chop he’s going to get the job.”