The future workforce
In the future, change is the only certainty.
Workers, employers, and education providers need to be agile, flexible and prepared to adapt as technology continues to interrupt industries and change the jobs available.
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A four-year college education remains the best choice for those who can get admitted to a selective university. But for everyone else, an alternative path might be the best way to go.
In the future, one training path will be company-sponsored apprenticeship programs to cover the skills missing between the secondary system and what employers are looking for.
Many workplace experts think that soft skills will help workers differentiate themselves from their peers. But automation will require workers of the future to be prepared to perform jobs with a strong technological component.
It's not enough to be smart. In the future, good workers also need to be curious to stay ahead of the game. Those who choose continued education in their careers will be the ones to thrive.
As for employers, companies that promote a culture of learning and facilitate training will reap the benefits.
One of the main ways technology has changed the job landscape is the gig economy and contract work.
What will further change is the extent to which specialists will be valued over generalists. In the future, a small business owner will have access to legal talent and services beyond their geography. It will include narrowed down services on an ad-hoc basis.
Until two decades ago, the general goal of colleges was for academic pursuits and teaching individuals to become more well-rounded. The general thought was that colleges were not vocational institutions.
Now, and possibly in the future, colleges will have to focus more on training and change their curriculum to meet the demands of employers.
As technology continues to change various industries, employers will require up-skilling from their employees.Ā
In the worst-case scenario, people will need to be re-skilled into new industries as AI, drones, and automation will reshape jobs. Mini-degrees or certifications that are more specialized will be offered by training institutions that focus on a particular industry.
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- Globalisation and technological progress have impacted the well-paid āblue-collarā jobs negatively, apart from disrupting routine office work. Addressing a skills gap by training workers sounds great in theory, but various studies point out to a different reality: skilled workers are already in oversupply.
- The problem arises from the retraining occupations that workers are doing, which may not be what the industry requires, but just a small fraction of the total vacancies. Add to this the fact that technology itself is automating tasks at a brisk pace, eliminating thousands of jobs altogether.
- Today's school and college education systems do not guarantee a life long career, as it gets obsolete in only five years.
- Individuals must constantly update themselves, enhancing their skills to remain relevant in the workforce.
- Companies face a skill and talent shortage that is likely to affect their profitability in the coming years. The society as a whole must likewise re-skill its working population to remain relevant globally.
There is a significant relationship between competitive profit gains and diversity.
Companies with gender, ethnic and racial diversity are at least 15 percent more likely to experience above-average financial returns.
ā¤ļø Brainstash Inc.