Decoding skills of the future.

In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.- Eric Hoffer

In 11 years’ time, the year 2030, it’s highly likely you’ll be working in a job that doesn’t even exist yet – and no, I am not talking about building Star Trek type teleportation machine or working in Mars?. The world of work is evolving quickly, which means you have to figure out how to prepare for a future job role that’s impossible to predict.The COVID-19 pandemic has had an?ever-lasting?impact on business decision making. 55% of businesses expected changes in their business priorities due to COVID-19. According to World Economic Forum 50% of employees need to be re-skilled by 2025. There are a number of forces at play here that are impacting the skills of the future.

First and foremost is disruption through technology. The EU commissioner for the digital economy said that up to 90% of the jobs in the future will require digital skills which means that digital skills will become the essential competency and the back bone of the future economic growth.?Research by the McKinsey Global Institute has looked at the kind of jobs that will be lost, as well as those that will be created as automation, AI, and robotics take hold. And it has inferred the type of high-level skills that will become increasingly important as a result.?The need for manual and physical skills, as well as basic cognitive ones, will decline, but demand for technological, social and emotional, and higher cognitive skills will grow.There are also?Geo-political uncertainties??and rising geopolitical volatility and trends towards patriotism?leading?to protectionism. This means the world isn’t as “flat” as it used to be. This means building in-house skills within an organisation is critical. Thirdly, the future of work has been turned on its head through Covid 19. People now prefer a far more flexible way of working which allows them to bring balance to their personal and professional life which requires even more demand on technology to drive collaboration and innovation at work place.?

Some work will, of course, be specialised. But in market that is more automated, digital, and dynamic, all of us will benefit from having a set of foundational skills that will help you to fulfil your ambitions. The 3 key basic questions you need think about are:

1.?????How do I operate in a highly digital environment?

2.?????How do I make myself redundant by replacing my work with automation and move up the value chain to create value for the organisation?

3.?????How do I innovate and create value above and beyond what I do?

In addition to this, let me talk about 5 key skills that you will need in the future:

Skill 1: Emotional and social intelligence?

For everything that can be replaced by digital technologies and artificial intelligence, emotional and social intelligence remain unique human capabilities. In some sectors, these qualities are absolutely crucial. The demand for?customer centricity and putting customers at the heart of all your decision making is one of the biggest differentiators – this requires design thinking and bringing empathy right at the forefront. In addition, future job is more than likely going to include working closely with others, so having empathy, the ability to collaborate, as well as excellent communication skills is something you’re most definitely going to need.?

Skill 2: Commercial judgement and decision making

Although?robotics and AI?technology may be better than humans in other ways such as calculations and diagnostic solving, it’s still going to be humans that deal with the subjective side of data analytics. The actions that needs to be driven from the recommendations. Considering we’re on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution, we’re still going to need to have somebody who is able to show the world what numbers mean and their significance.Commercial acumen and therefore judgment is key to any decision making to create shareholder value.

Skill 3: Self Awareness and self management?

Self-awareness is about understanding your needs, desires, motivation, habits, and everything else that makes you the unique individual that you are. It is also the ability to recognise one’s own emotions and the situations that arouse these emotions. I have written an article in depth about self awareness which you may want to read below.

My previous article

Skill 4: Leadership & Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills are sometimes called “employability skills”. This is not something new but there is a need to double down on this skill to build the right foundation of success. It’s no longer an option ‘to have’ but a ‘must have’. It cannot be an ‘either/or’ conversation where you can compromise your technical ability over interpersonal skills. It is something that should be woven in your fabric.??It’s about effective team work through building inclusiveness, resolving conflicts, collaborating, coaching and empowering. Along with this, building trust through inspiring humility, empathy and sociability are crucial elements of leadership traits that will make you successful. Teaching yourself the “art of ignorance” makes you inquisitive and helps you to master the art of listening, a key quality to have in this modern world.

Skill 5: Treating People how they would like to be treated

Nothing drives employee loyalty and engagement more than knowing?“my boss/peer cares about me as a human being.”?Everyone is an individual. Their issues,?concerns and life in general are completely different to another individual. It always irks me to hear people say “during Covid 19 we are all on the same boat”. I completely disagree. We may be in the same storm but we’re definitely on different boats. Our backgrounds are different. Our problems are different. As long as we are inclusive in our thought process and don’t paint everyone with a same brush, we build the ability to treat people differently. We must look at our colleagues as being our biggest asset and the bond can only be built through genuine leadership that recognises individuals and understands their needs and wants.?

End note:

To summarise, there is a morale obligation for the employers to support their workforce to build future skills. However, building the skills of the future isn’t just an employer’s responsibility. It lies with you too. Whilst the?vast majority of business leaders now expect employees to pick up new skills on the job, employees can play a significant part in driving these conversations at work. The gap is huge in terms of what is being done versus what needs to be done. This gap can only be addressed through self reflection and a clear personal and career development plan which will help you to build the right career framework tailored to suit you. Building skills of gather future isn’t a problem but rather an opportunity to build a better business and a better future for all of us.?