The workforce is rapidly changing. Technology has evolved significantly over the last two decades and it has had a direct impact on the types of skills that organizations across industries are looking for in candidates. Preparing students for the workforce must be part of the core mission of schools and universities, especially in an era when the nature of work is rapidly changing.
Today’s students learn academic core subjects that are useful. They also need to demonstrate workplace habits that employers care about including reliability, punctuality, customer service and high-quality task completion. They must gain all the knowledge they need to seamlessly integrate into the office environment.
Five reasons students need to be prepared for tomorrow’s workforce:
1. Rise of intelligent machines
Many experts are predicting that development in artificial intelligence, robotics and automation will transform the way we live and work, on a scale similar to the industrial revolution.
AI and advanced automation are already transforming jobs and augmenting complex tasks in a variety of fields. The students need to know how to leverage technology and have the right digital skills that will prepare them for a variety of work environments, whether physical or virtual, in the future workforce.
2. The need for speed
The speed of business is increasing and so is the demand to be able to respond quickly—the need to do more with fewer resources, people, and time. You need to perform the task more efficiently to meet that pace and fulfill the demand. Students need to learn time management skills and the ability to work in pressure environments for tomorrow’s workforce.
Also Read: How teachers can use the best tools and resources available to create a modern classroom?
3. 21st-century skills
The futuristic workforce requires candidates to be able to collaborate, communicate and solve problems. The need to imbibe emotional intelligence along with problem-solving skills to perform the task. In the workplace, it’s not just about getting to the right end, but getting there by the best path. Students need to inculcate 21st-century skills for better shots at futuristic jobs.
4. Dealing with failure
Modern culture has taken a “can’t-fail” approach to education and raising children. In a misguided attempt to increase kids’ confidence, some parents go so far as to let their kids always win at board games. However, this does not help them in the real world. In the global knowledge economy, failure is an accepted part of doing a job.
Think about ideas and products that changed the world – the pathways to these successes are strewn with failures. Each failure offered a priceless learning opportunity. Kids today are afraid to fail.
This fear saps their creativity and deprives them of the true joy of learning and doing. Learning by being told (declarative knowledge) is no longer sufficient for the future. Students need to apply their learning (procedural knowledge) to fit better in the future workforce.
5. Upgrade to survive
Skills are critical because they address core business challenges, with the competencies needed in a workforce to overcome those challenges. The future workforce does need individuals who can enhance their skill sets when required. Students need to understand that getting a job doesn’t simply demand a degree; they also need to anticipate the future and be open to continuous learning.
The change in the economic order that the 21st century has brought in every walk of life requires many new skills that individuals need to possess to succeed in future workplaces. They need to be prepared today with all the requirements that will enhance their skills for a better future.
Social