What would you do if you were told that the skillsets you possess today would become obsolete 10 years from now? And that the job you are doing would no longer exist? For most of us, it would mean taking a close look at our present capabilities, finding ways to augment them and adapting ourselves to a different sort of workplace so we still fit in. Whether you choose to augment your current skills (upskilling) or retrain in a totally different area (reskilling) you would be joining millions of people worldwide in getting ready for the future stages of your working life.
Emergence of
The skills of the future may be ill-defined, but we know that they will employ cognitive and emotional labour. Workers originally contributed physical labour to employers, which consisted of the ability to move and manipulate objects and depended largely on muscular strength and dexterity. In the last few decades, we have seen the growth of cognitive labour, founded on the bedrock of cognitive capacity, memory, which is manifested as the ability to memorise and recall knowledge and information. This progresses to include analysis of information, optimisation and decision making, critical thinking, and ultimately creativity. Finally, we are seeing the emergence of emotional labour which is the deployment of skills and capabilities such as awareness, self-motivation, empathy and relationship-building, all coupled with a sense of purpose and meaning, and behaving ethically.
Demands of job market
The growth of cognitive and emotional labour, within a job market that is seeing the rise of some sectors and the shrinking of others, means that the demands of the job market are continually changing. In India, for example, the digital revolution that has taken place across all industrial sectors means that the
There are several advantages to upskilling. For employees, developing new skills can help you stay relevant and improve employability – an example could be an e-commerce company training its developers in the use of AI that can be used to track consumer buying patterns. Other advantages of upskilling include the potential discovery of new passions and interests which could lead to new career possibilities. It could give you the chance to meet people, expand your professional network, and offer a fresh perspective. Reskilling can sometimes be a good way to re-enter the workforce after a very long break, or even to switch careers. Personally, I used the pandemic, when I was stuck at home and could not travel, to qualify as a management accountant; I expect this to be useful in the non-executive roles that I expect to hold in the future when my career in education eventually comes to an end.
The advantages don’t stop with just employees though. Equally, for employers, investing in upskilling or reskilling your employees can benefit you in several ways. Talent acquisition is time-consuming, and as an employer, it is far simpler to retain existing employees by upskilling them for a changing environment than it is to hire new talent. Another reason is driving employee satisfaction – some studies have shown that 91% of Gen Z employees (born 1990-1999) factor in professional training opportunities when choosing an employer. With upskilling, some employees may be able to step up and play more leadership-oriented roles.
If you wish to take charge of your own development to stay employable, there are several ways to do this.
Enhancing employability
The most common is to take on an additional project at work, something that is completely outside of your regular job. These stretch opportunities are a great way to learn more about a different line of work and are a very effective way to upskill (provided, of course, that you are not neglecting your main role). Another way is by allocating some time each week to follow industry leaders and experts. There is a rich repository of professional literature available online on LinkedIn, TED Talks, podcasts and more. Joining an industry or professional association could also help, as they often have workshops and discussions that can offer insights. Volunteering for a charity can help to gain experience that you may not get at work – charities and not-for-profits need much more than fundraising – you could be helping with finance, for example, or people, or operations.
Finally, an additional degree or a specialist course can build on your current skills to boost your job role or position you as a knowledge leader in your existing industry. Several higher education institutes today have degrees that offer flexible study and are ideal for working professionals. At
We offer all our students and all our staff members the chance to develop a statement describing their purpose, and the impact that they want to have on the world. That’s a useful starting place if you don’t know how to plan your future career or what skills to try and develop next. Purpose-led people – and companies – are shown to have greater resilience and flexibility, useful in today’s ever-changing employment marketplace. Whatever the jobs of tomorrow look like.
Source: educationtimes.com, 10/01/23
