Building a Future-ready workforce: Re-evaluating our educational system

In the course of history, new developments in aspects of living including medicine, tech, business, and world policies have necessitated shifts and transitions in the skills required by individuals and institutions. These new developments periodically alter the concepts of work as we know it. These changes which modified what was traditionally known and accepted as work stemmed majorly from the digital revolution which materialized around 1980 with the innovation of the internet and after with computing clouds, social networking, and big data; and can be traced back to the 1950s when technology began to advance from mechanical and analog to digital.

In the past 20 years, we have observed a set of ground-breaking and massive changes in the reality of things, as we have seen drones taking pictures instead of a cameraman, automatic checkout machines at supermarkets, automated assembling robots, and even digital newspapers. After decades of concerns about technology-driven displacement of jobs, and increasing public dissension globally, to remain competitive in the midst of this rapidly progressing future of occupational and work challenges, educational institutions are required to examine new techniques to develop individuals to be able to remain relevant and broaden their focus.

Institutions are realizing that they cannot just hire the average school leaver with terrific grades for a job or skill that would not yield much in the current workforce or that won't be immensely needed in 5 - 10 years. As time progresses we have discovered that effective companies need more enterprise-oriented and critical problem-solving individuals than technical ones. And this is true for even the most physically required institutions.

Most of the future's jobs remain unidentified, and the life cycles of even the most required skills are shorter than ever, hence expecting things to return to normal isn't an option, the educational system must identify and develop the required

skills their adherents will need going forward, they must methodologically define the skills that are needed presently, and over the next decade, to properly prepare their learners to fit in and even thrive in the ever-evolving workforce.

The young digerati will lead innovation, but they’ll also need to develop business awareness, an entrepreneurial attitude, a bottom-line focus, and ethical intelligence.

TUCKER J. MARION, SEBASTIAN K. FIXSON, AND GREG BROWN

Simply put, revolutions in society are impacting the workforce and hastily causing the fading away of some traditional ways of work and ushering in new ones. Though more rapid and Innovative, the current revolution is not the first of its kind; it is part of a series of transient eras in history, marked by modernization, innovation, and rapid technological, scientific, political, and social transformations that have fashioned economies. These 'eras' are known as industrial revolutions.

Let us look at these revolutions that shaped the world, the jobs it displaced, and the new jobs and skills that were required thereafter.

The First industrial revolution

The first industrial revolution was a series of technological and economical developments that began in some parts of Europe and North America from 1760 to 1840. The main features of the Industrial Revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and cultural. The technological changes involved: the use of iron and steel for construction, the innovation of new energy sources such as coal, the steam engine, electricity, petroleum, and the internal-combustion engine, and the use of new machinery, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy, critical developments in transportation and communication, including the steam locomotive, steamship, automobile, airplane, telegraph, and radio, and the increasing application of science to industry.

There were also many new developments in nonindustrial spheres, including agricultural improvements that made possible the provision of food for a larger nonagricultural population, economic changes that resulted in a wider distribution of wealth, the decline of land as a source of wealth in the face of rising industrial production, and increased international trade, political changes reflecting the shift in economic power, as well as new state policies corresponding to the needs of industrialized society, sweeping social changes, including the growth of cities, the development of working-class movements, and the emergence of new patterns of authority, and cultural transformations of a broad order.

During this shift, the acquisition of new skills was inevitable; Workers acquired new and unique skills, and they transitioned from being craftsmen working with hand tools, to become machine operators, subject to factory discipline.

During this period these technological changes eliminated a lot of job types, modified the way people worked, and created new kinds of required skills. The educational system had to be re-evaluated to include these in-demand skills to produce individuals with the skills required in the new workforce.

The second industrial revolution

The Technological Revolution, sometimes known as the Second Industrial Revolution, was a period of fast scientific advancement, standardization, mass manufacturing, and industrialization that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (around 1870 to 1914). It included the development of railroads, improved factory automation, electrification, and social and economic changes that changed communities throughout Europe and America from primarily agricultural societies to industrial ones. Many people who had been first attracted from fields to cities to work in the factories lost their jobs as a result of mechanisms that reduced the need for labor. Many artisans and craftsmen lost their jobs because they were unable to compete with the cheaper cost of mass-produced goods. People who couldn't change with the industrial and economic changes were laid off.

The third industrial revolution

Also known as the digital revolution which began primarily in the late 20th century. It marked the transition from analog and mechanical technology to digital technology. The outcome of this revolution included technological inventions that transformed the approach to traditional production, and economic and business techniques. Incidentally, widespread use of digital logic, MOSFETs (MOS transistors), integrated circuit (IC) chips, and their derived technologies, including computers, microprocessors, digital cellular phones, and the Internet were observed. With the invention of digital computers and digital record-keeping, this revolution shaped much of what we know and how we work, and this progress to the present day. Implicitly, this period featured changes brought about by digital computing and communication technologies which spawned mind-blowing advancements in medicine and science in general, entirely new and different branches of learning, and job vacancies in emerging industries that required the practice of a lot of unique and new skills. Industrial automation started taking root as the need arose to provide results faster and more effectively.

The fourth industrial revolution

Many argue that presently we are experiencing what could be known as industry 4.0 which is just an alias for the fourth industrial revolution. The term was made popular in 2015 by the world economic forum founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab who argued that the current developments are not just improvements to enable increased efficiency, but an entirely new and significant shift in industrial capitalism. Industry 4.0 exhibits rapid changes in the field of engineering and technology, institutions, companies, and societal patterns occurring in the 21st century due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. It postulates that we are entering an automated social reality with the advent of industrial changes like artificial intelligence, gene editing, advanced robotics, large-scale machine-to-machine communication (M2M), and the internet of things (IoT). The Fourth Industrial Revolution signifies a significant shift in the way we interact with one another, live, and work. Incredible technological advancements comparable to those of the first, second, and third industrial revolutions have opened a new chapter in the history of humanity. These technological developments are fusing the physical, digital, and biological worlds in ways that provide great promise as well as a possible danger. Because of the speed, breadth, and depth of this change, we are being forced to reconsider how nations grow, how businesses generate value, and even what it means to be a human. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is an opportunity to enable everyone, including leaders, policymakers, and individuals from all socioeconomic levels and countries, to utilize convergent technologies to create a more sustainable and equitable world.

These revolutions are known to disrupt our concept of the status quo, doing away with previously recognized and accepted ways of work, initiating new industries, and thus demanding new skills to carry out tasks required for said industries to function efficiently. To exploit the opportunities created by these advancements, numerous institutions have embarked on a reorientation of their hiring requirements and modifications of their strategic direction, and individuals who do not fit into these "requirements and modifications" are consequently removed from the institution's workforce. Therefore re-evaluating our educational system to fit the present situation and to involve possible future opportunities is a subject that shouldn't be trifled with

Here are some statistics: According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Work report; by 2025, 50% of workers will need new skills, and 40% of current workers' core skills are expected to change.

These are the abilities most recruiters claim to need even more than a bachelor's degree:

1. Know-all: Institutions are realizing the need for 'geniuses', individuals who know something about every occurrence in the institution. Individuals who perfectly understand self-management, and who reason critically to coordinate, delegate, create, lead, and manage complex tasks in the company. Tomorrow’s talent must aspire to comprehend everything — or at least much more than they currently do about their businesses. And they possess usable data about their customers’ businesses — how and when their products and services are used by their customers, how their customers’ organizational processes work, and the related challenges and opportunities. That’s the only way companies will be able to evolve from selling products and services to delivering outcomes — a process that will likely change the very businesses they’re in.

Baltasar Gracián, a Spanish prose writer quoted that There is much to be known, life is short, and life is not life without knowledge. It is therefore an excellent device to acquire knowledge from everybody. Thus, by the sweat of another’s brow, you win the reputation of being an oracle.

At its most basic definition, what tomorrow's workforce requires is Omniscience, knowing all about the key connections of their institutions and companies. Employees must understand key connections: links between physical machines and digital systems, between each step of the value chain, and between the company’s current and future business models. Possessing a godlike aura of efficiency and speed is the only way individuals can maintain their relevance and ensure that they remain apt and indispensable in the future workforce.

2. Mindset for Entrepreneurship: Although it may appear obvious, individuals must become more adventurous to achieve. They must be able to challenge what is known and push limits not only in terms of the goods they desire to build but also in terms of the tools and procedures they employ. They are inextricably linked. Essentially, they must become digital intrapreneurs, utilizing cutting-edge tools or, if required, developing their own. This includes testing with new software and systems that are not suggested by IT, as well as designing some internal solutions Collaboration is essential to this endeavor. According to a study of 400 corporations, more innovative organizations, as assessed by similar yardsticks, employed such technologies more frequently than less-innovative enterprises.

Because improved collaboration leads to increased invention, collaborative tools and processes that organizations use are critical. Figuring those out requires an entrepreneurial mindset as well.

3. Profound Focus: The current world is almost entire data-driven, every reaction to a product or service, our conversations, our income, our likes, and dislikes, even down to our political standing and the food we consume are all data that could be collected, stored, and re-used at any given time to accomplish numerous goals for businesses. There are billions of terabytes of information about individuals' interests and businesses on IoT-connected devices. Hence employees need to be just as skilled at thinking critically about business models as they are at designing and implementing systems. Thanks to IoT and other technologies, companies’ value-capture strategies can be shaped not just by marketing, sales, and business.

Due to the current use of digital media, products, and tools; there are tons of measured data flowing into companies, employees are required to be able to cope with the current 'data explosion', they need to figure out how to manage all that data, they need to figure out which data are important for the company, which metrics can be used, and how it can benefit the company. They must go beyond checking where the data originated, how dependable it is, and where it is stored, and whether it has a coherent sequence. Most importantly is focusing on business relevance, data analysts and technicians must be trained to ask important questions about how the collected data can be used to progress the institution's strategic direction.

It is no longer a priority to hire students with the highest marks, nor is it to hire Ph.D. holders. There are millions of job openings in millions of companies worldwide, but institutions and recruiters are having difficulty finding qualified candidates because most applicants lack the digital and soft skills required for success. According to Michael B. Horn, author of the book From reopening to reinvent (book title in italics), "companies have stopped waiting for higher education to meet their rapidly shifting competitive needs."

As this article progresses, it becomes evident that we need to re-evaluate and modify our educational system to meet the trends and needs of today's workforce and those of the future.

Due to the laxity to develop our educational system, companies are taking it into their hands to educate their future employees to possess the skills to be able to carry out the tasks in the company.

According to the Future of Jobs Report 2020 by the World Economic Forum. Here is a list of essential skills individuals must possess to enable be relevant in the future workforce:

1. Analytical thinking and innovation

2. Active learning and learning strategies

3. Complex problem-solving

4. Critical thinking and analysis

5. Creativity, originality, and initiative

6. Leadership and social influence

7. Technology use, monitoring, and control

8. Technology design and programming

9. Resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility

10. Reasoning, problem-solving, and ideation

Sadly, most of these skills are usually not even considered in our educational system, Since most of these skills are soft skills.

The challenges facing our educational systems today are significant but not insurmountable. To jointly lead economies and societies to greater prosperity, the educational systems need to adapt to tackle the factors that lead to the waste of human capabilities and potential. Economic intellectuals have been able to track the benefits of augmenting human skill sets to enable economic prosperity. One of the most valuable assets of any economy or company is its human capital–the skills, abilities, and innovation of its citizens. Distortions that undercut individuals’ skills development and their ability to find a job that matches their current and potential capabilities erode the factors of economic productivity, innovation, and growth that are derived from harnessing human skills and capabilities.

To harness human potential towards greater prosperity, the educational system will need to shift focus from areas of decline to areas of growth in the economy. They are called on to design effective systems for upgrading individuals’ skills and capabilities in line with emerging skills demands—in essence, researching and imparting new skills and also expanding access to reskilling and upskilling to mid-career individuals. To realize this, governments will need to reinforce our educational systems with policies and practices that ensure that workers can acquire future usable skills, thus alleviating economic strain during periods of transition.

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Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R

Chinonso Ogbogu