We have never had so much DATA available.
At the same time it has never been more difficult to accurately predict the future.
This is also the PARADOX of our job markets.
Complexity and increasing speed of change impact our lives in so many different ways that even simple decisions can seem overwhelming if you stop to think:
- which jobs will no longer exist in 5 years – and in 10?
- what new jobs will be created?
- how will technology change MY job?
- exactly what competences will I need?
- how do I begin building the competences necessary for the future – today?
- who will I work with and for?
- how do I position myself to be in the right place with the right skills?
These questions are relevant for everybody on the job market regardless of age although the challenges are very different.
To simplify:
Young/Digital Natives don’t have role models in their families or surroundings; nobody is doing yet what they will be doing in a couple of years. If they don’t have a clear vision for their own future they risk taking the wrong advice.
Mid-career workforce have already worked hard and adapted to their companies to be where they are today. Some are aware of the upcoming changes. The big question is: do they have the time and skills necessary to interpret the changes correctly? Will they have the courage to ride the wild wave or will they try to sit it out and hope to be around to assess the (disruption) damage?
Seniors must be ready to make more changes in the last decade of their careers compared to all the previous decades put together! If not, they risk being replaced by the digital talent their bosses need to stay afloat. If they are decision makers and team leaders themselves, they must pursue business models that make everything they successfully built in the past obsolete. That is not an easy one either.
Change is not always fun – unless you control the process. So focus on what you will GAIN with change – not on what you are going to LOSE.
What are some future proof skills you believe in?
Let’s make the best ideas even better!
