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#YourCareer : Which Jobs Will AI Replace? These 4 Industries Will Be Heavily Impacted. Traditionally White-Collar Work—May be Heavily Impacted. Thoughts?

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Since the release of powerful AI tools ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, discussions about whether “robots” will replace humans have grown, and studies show some jobs—surprisingly, some traditionally white-collar work—may be heavily impacted.

KEY FACTS

  • Generative AI, a form of artificial intelligence capable of creating text or other content in response to user prompts, has quickly gained popularity following the public launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
  • Since its November 2022 release, people have used AI chatbot ChatGPT for an array of this, including writing college-level essays and generating code.​​
  • The AI race heated up after Google released Bard on March 21, a ChatGPT competitor and a separate entity from the company’s Google search engine.
  • A recent report from Goldman Sachs estimates around 300 million jobs could be affected by generative AI, meaning 18% of work globally could be automated—with more advanced economies heavily impacted than emerging markets.
  • The report also predicts two-thirds of jobs in the U.S. and Europe “are exposed to some degree of AI automation,” and around a quarter of all jobs could be performed by AI entirely.
  • Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and OpenAI found some educated white-collar workers earning up to $80,000 a year are the most likely to be affected by workforce automation.
  • According to the report, jobs in agriculture, mining and manufacturing are the least exposed to generative AI, while jobs in the information processing industries, like IT, are the most exposed because jobs that use “programming and writing skills” are more closely related to GPT’s capabilities.
  • Generative AI isn’t perfect, both OpenAI and Google admit their program sometimes gives incorrect responses and has other flaws, like ChatGPT’s knowledge base that ends in 2021, and Bard’s limited conversation retention.

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

JOBS MOST IMPACTED

  • Finance and banking: Banks have already begun incorporating AI into their business models. 56% of banks claim they’ve implemented the technology into their business domains like management, and 52% claim they’ve used it for revenue generation, according to Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and the World Economic Forum. Abhijit Bose, a Capital One senior vice president, told the Washington Post AI will potentially “monitor transactions” to give detailed financial advice on saving and spending. Morgan Stanley has begun using OpenAI-powered chatbots to organize its wealth management database, helping advisers pull up data and research more efficiently. The World Economic Forum also predicts AI will bring three changes to the finance division: job cuts, job creation and increased efficiency.​​ In addition, they estimate by 2027, 23% of jobs in China’s financial sector will be replaced by AI.

 

  • Media and marketing: Kristian Hammond, chief scientist of Natural Sciences told the BBC in 15 years, “90% of news will be written by machines.” Natural Sciences has a software called Quill, an AI paraphrasing tool that writes company reports ahead of earning announcements. German publisher Axel Springer announced in February plans to transition into “digital only,” which includes job cuts in favor of “modern technology” and automation. Reporters for different media outlets like Business Insider, CNET and CNBC have used ChatGPT to write news stories, though they have often been criticized for containing false information. In January, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced the company would rely on ChatGPT to personalize content and enhance quizzes, much to the employees’ dismay, according to the Wall Street Journal. In the marketing world, 84% of marketers reported using AI in 2020, a stark jump from 29% in 2019, according to Salesforce research. High-performing marketing teams averaged around seven different uses of AI and machine learning in 2020, and over half planned on increasing their use in 2021, the report also claims.

 

  • Legal services: An attorney used ChatGPT to publish a 14-page legal paper published in Social Science Research Network on a plethora of prompts, including creating a contract, explaining why the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage shouldn’t be appealed and developing deposition questions. The AI bot has the potential “to address access to justice questions” and make legal services available to those who can’t afford it, Andrew Perlman, the author of the paper and a Suffolk University Law School Dean told Reuters. Low-income Americans don’t get enough or any legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems, according to a 2022 report by Legal Services Corp. Some have already begun incorporating AI into legal service, like startup Lawgeex, which has a service that reads contracts faster than, and what they claim to be more accurate than humans.

 

JOBS LEAST IMPACTED

 

  • Manufacturing and factory workers: This industry has been undergoing automation for a while, with General Motors credited as the first major manufacturer to implement robotics in their assembly lines after the introduction of UNIMATE in 1961. However, generative AI may speed up the process. For example, Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Bot, or Optimus, an autonomous android made to replace humans in dangerous, repetitive jobs. Musk plans to place these bots in his Tesla factories and eventually expand to millions around the world. According to an MIT and Boston University report, AI is expected to replace as many as two million manufacturing workers by 2025. “Our evidence shows that robots increase productivity,” the researchers said. A Chinese factory in Dongguan City replaced 90% of its workforce with machines, resulting in a 250% increase in productivity and an 80% decrease in defects. A job that took 650 human workers to complete now takes about 60 robots and 60 humans, the company claims.

 

  • Agriculture: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2021 there were 21.1 million full- and part-time jobs in the food and agriculture sectors, making up 10.5% of the labor force. Agriculture is considered one of the world’s oldest professions and has stood the test of time, lasting through four separate industrial revolutions. According to the Washington Post, many small farms don’t produce enough profit to invest in more machinery, though larger farms have already begun the process of automation for strenuous tasks. In the U.S., family farms make up 98% of all farms, with a majority being small family farms that operate about half of the country’s farm land. However, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture does fund AI research, education and extension activities in the areas of natural resources and environments, agricultural systems and engineering and economics and rural communities.

 

  • Healthcare: A study published in the International Journal of Health Services found on average, psychiatrists spend 20.3% of their day on paperwork, followed by internists and general practitioners at 17.3%. Mundane administrative tasks like this can be automated, but other areas probably won’t need AI. David Dranove, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management told the Kellogg Insight most adults want to hear about their health from a human, and there’s “a need for compassion…that AI is unable to contribute.” An Oxford University report predicts medical transcriptionists, medical records, medical secretaries and health information technicians are the most likely jobs in the field to be automated, not actual providers. This extends into mental health as well—the Washington Post has tried and failed at creating an AI version of infamous psychologist, Sigmund Freud.

Forbes.com Author: Arianna Johnson

 

                       Forbes.com | March 31, 2023

#YourCareer : 5 Recession Proof Jobs Revealed (And The List Might Surprise You). Great REad!

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American families are struggling with inflation. As three-quarters of middle-income Americans struggle to support their cost of living, 78% are worried about losing their jobs, while 25% say they’ve been laid off or know someone who has been. Crippling recession and job uncertainty have forced Americans to act, with 40% actively planning a career change, seeking more security and a higher salary.

“Today, the job market moves faster than a Tesla in a ludicrous mode, leaving many bystanders gasping for air,” according to Roman Peskin, co-founder and CEO of ELVTR, an online education platform.

The team at ELVTR surveyed 21,500 Americans looking to change or enhance their careers to discover the top five recession-proof professions, helping workers recession-proof their careers and add value to their job search.

Top 5 Recession-Proof Professions

Here are the top 5 professions that, according to ELVTR, are in high demand—each paying up to around $100,000 a year. This list might surprise you:

1. Product Management

In a world driven by technology, there’s no shortage of innovation or demand for talent in the IT sector, but companies aren’t just seeking technologists. They also require those with product management skills to ensure the success of their products. According to Glassdoor, there are 17,725 current openings in the product management field. IT product managers can expect a respectable salary and opportunities to progress. Offering a pathway into the lucrative tech industry that doesn’t require the ability to code. Average salary, Glassdoor: $96,496 per year

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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Article continued …

2. DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Management

According to LinkedIn, the number of ‘head of diversity’ professionals has more than doubled since 2015 with companies such as Electronic Arts, Deloitte and Amazon among those hiring. Shown to boost productivity, employee retention and morale, and with 75% of job seekers evaluating a company’s diversity when considering a job offer, investment in DEI management positions will only increase. By mastering skills such as communication, issue identification and conflict management, candidates can secure a career in this growing field. Besides offering a lucrative career choice, such roles are perfect for those hoping to leave a positive mark on our workplaces and society. Average salary, Glassdoor: $89,804 per year

3. Game Production

The gaming industry grew by 26% between 2019 and 2021 and will continue on this trajectory despite the recession, according to PwC, as consumers seek low-cost entertainment. With gaming a favorite hobby among young consumers, this ranks as the most desirable industry among job-seekers as new professionals seek a career doing what they love most. To beat the competition, candidates will need to master scarcely available skills. This is not just an opportunity for those with coding knowledge and experience. To meet demand, the industry will need to recruit a diverse range of skills—from UX/UI to sound engineering, programming to script writing. Average salary, Glassdoor: $87,024 per year

4. Creative Direction

With sector job prospects projected to grow 11% this decade, faster than the U.S. job market average, there is an evident need for art direction skills. A decline is unlikely despite the economic situation as people continue to seek entertainment during tough times and businesses increase their advertising efforts to maintain recognition and loyalty. Opposing the ‘starving artist’ stereotype, art direction roles enable creative types to showcase their creativity with the guarantee of reward. Average salary, Glassdoor: $72,694 per year

5. Data Analysis

With an ever-growing amount of data available to businesses, professionals with analysis skills to transform this into valuable insight are in high demand. According to LinkedIn, data science vacancies have been growing by 37% annually in the U.S. With roles spread across almost all industries, those competent in data analysis have the freedom to pick a role and sector that appeals to them such as banking, healthcare, retail or tech. Also requiring above-average computer literacy and mathematical skills, this is by no means an easy profession, but the rewards are equal to the requirements with even entry-level analysts commanding above-average salaries. Average salary, Glassdoor: $63,731 per year

A Final Word On The Future Of Work

After decades of wage stagnation, the workforce is finally seeking more, Peskin told me. He explained that close to a quarter of employees are considering their options and scrambling to expand their expertise, but so too are thousands of others. “‘Skills inflation’ hits, the supply of candidates increases, and the number of available roles plummets,” he said. “Ultimately, mastering mass market skills are unlikely to improve a job seeker’s prospects. Instead, employees should focus on acquiring skills that are less common among today’s workforce, yet no less valuable and desirable to employers.”

Most of the jobs from the list above didn’t exist 20 years ago, according to Peskin, yet today they enjoy a steady demand despite a slowdown in the economy. “According to our recent research, 40% of people with a college degree don’t believe their profession will be in demand ten years from now,” he concluded. “Lifetime learning is no longer a fancy concept but quite literally a survival mechanism. Learn new skills or get eaten. That’s the deal.”

 

Forbes.com | October 26, 2022 | Bryan Robinson, Ph.D.

#JobSearch : Career Reinvention Is About More Than Just Skills: 3 Areas Critical To Employability In The Future Of Work. A MUst REad for All!

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The future of work is here. And as Jack Kelly highlights in this sobering Forbes.com article, life is not going to be as comfortable as we remember it pre-pandemic and we must become self-reliant and entrepreneurial when it comes to our careers.

This may feel exciting for some and downright terrifying for others. What used to be a choice, is now becoming a guarantee: We will all need to reinvent ourselves multiple times throughout our careers to remain employable.

Those who resist may find themselves in an uncomfortable reality in the not-so-distant future. But even those who are ready to embrace the situation may not know where to begin.

Here’s how to remain employable in a volatile and ever-advancing market:

1) Reinvent expertise. This is traditionally how most professionals think about career reinvention. Building new skills through formal education, online courses, applied experience and self-created projects is a great habit and something all professionals should pursue.

Although some companies are leading efforts to upskill or reskill their workforces, this is still an emerging concept and most of those roles tend to be in technology fields where there’s a talent shortage. Since many organizations are not offering these programs or sadly, not proactively encouraging their employees to reskill, the onus is on the individual to drive this process. Here’s how:

  • Regularly take inventory. In today’s labor market, it doesn’t take long for skills to go stale, especially when it comes to technology solutions. While many employees go through some type of annual performance review, these are often rushed, unstructured and focused on the company’s performance metrics (vs. broader market skills). It will benefit you to review your accomplishments annually, update your resume and LinkedIn with new abilities, and identify any skills gaps that may exist. Specifically, take note if you realize that you’ve gained few new marketable skills in the last year. At the pace we’re moving, even one year with limited growth can set you behind.
  • Follow the market. Many employees focus on how to be successful internally at their organizations, which makes sense because this is likely what they’re measured on and where they earn a paycheck. However, make time to look externally as well. It’s easy to become myopic and the reality is what your company is focusing on may not be what the broader industry is doing. If your company is remaining stagnant when your competitors are moving forward, it may be time to take it upon yourself to upskill.
  • Make a plan. Once you’ve done your market and self assessments, take action. There are so many resources available today to increase your skills and knowledge, many low cost or no cost. Plan to take two LinkedIn Learning courses monthly, raise your hand to be on the board of an industry association, volunteer to lead the new retention task force your company is instituting, enroll in a business course at a local community college, select a new technology App or system to master. My favorite strategy is putting yourself into rooms where you’re the least qualified, which forces you to improve your skills while being surrounded by others who can help advise you. The list of possibilities is endless, but you need to schedule it and follow through. Most professionals have a lot of things competing for their time, so if it’s not a priority, it won’t happen.

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Article continued …

2) Reinvent brand. Whether or not you’re consciously building a brand, others observe what you do and develop their own conclusions. While you can’t necessarily control what others think, you can engage in behaviors that portray the brand you aspire to, and ensure the great work you accomplish is visible.

While you may balk at the necessity of this, you may change your mind when you realize the people around you who are landing stellar opportunities aren’t more talented or experienced, they just do a better job of broadcasting their skills and achievements. As Carla Harris points out in her book “Strategize to Win,” many decisions about your career are made when you’re not in the room, so if key decision-makers aren’t aware of your expertise, you will get overlooked, fair or not. Here’s how to create a visible brand:

  • Do great work. Whether in the boardroom or mailroom, building a trusted brand starts with being known as the person who gets the job done while being a role model to others in terms of work ethic, attitude and reliability. Create a strategy to measure your progress, even if it’s not a built-in aspect of your job (e.g., Sales, billable hours), and strive to improve your performance through building efficiencies, reducing costs or engaging creativity. What employers value more than anything today are employees who are agile, resourceful, and continuously learning. Regardless of your title, be that person and you’ll always land on your feet.
  • Create a visibility strategy. Doing great work is a must, but others need to know about it. If your organization is highly siloed, your manager tends to overlook recognition or your role doesn’t have a formalized measurement that ends up on a distributed report, it’s likely others aren’t fully aware of your contributions. Create a dashboard or scorecard for yourself and share it with your boss and team. Make it a habit to celebrate team accomplishments in staff meetings, including your role in the project. Volunteer for committees or projects that expose you to new colleagues and leaders so others become aware of your capabilities. Worst case, these steps may save you if your manager unexpectedly leaves or your company experiences a RIF, and best case, you may be hand-selected for a juicy new role. For more tips, click here.
  • Define your brand. Most don’t reflect on the question, “What do I want to be known for?” However, the answer to this is what defines the behavior guidelines for your professional brand. No, you can’t control what others’ think of you, but you can control your actions, which give others the criteria for making a judgment. If you want to get a promotion, show up to meetings on-time, prepared to contribute and ready to display leadership qualities like recognizing contributions and offering ideas. Knowing your goals and what attributes define someone who is successful attaining those goals will inform your actions, which others will notice. Take time to define your brand when you’re starting a new role, project or team. Then, determine the behaviors that make someone effective and exhibit them. Follow through on your social media and how you introduce yourself.

3) Reinvent connections. Your network is likely constantly evolving through work, community and social connections, even if you’re not putting too much effort into it. Imagine what could happen if you invested just a bit more?

More than anything, your network is the lifeline to career opportunities. Up to 70% of jobs are never posted, which means the only way to learn about them is through a connection, and 98% of Fortune 500 companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) according to Jobscan, which often weed out 75% of applications before they reach the recruiter. Unfair? Yes. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted what we already knew: job security is a myth and even stellar performers are susceptible to a deflated economy. So, while reinventing your skills is a fantastic start, great performance can get you only so far. The rest is about who knows what you know. Here’s how to reinvent your network:

  • Take stock, then take a step further. You already have a great network, but you may not have thought about it. Go through your email, texts, Venmo, social media and other contact lists to learn more about the network you already have. Are you connected online? Have they changed jobs? Do they know your target? What could be learned from a 15-minute phone call? The people in your network are constantly evolving, so don’t underestimate their value in your reinvention. Reach out, share your current career goals, and be curious about theirs. You may just find that you can mutually benefit one another’s careers in a way you hadn’t imagined. See here.
  • Branch out. If you’ve been growing your network organically, it may be time to get more strategic. In this article, Herminia Ibarra describes a method for auditing your connections and ensuring you’re being thorough in your outreach. For example, are you networking in diverse groups outside of your normal circles? Have you considered who you’d like to meet to get to the next level of your career and started to follow their work? Much of what makes networking successful in the moment is planning ahead and giving yourself a lengthy runway to develop the relationship, so start before you need it.
  • Make it a habit. Like exercise and healthy eating, networking and building connections needs to become a way of life to be most effective. In the same way cramming in a few Peloton sessions won’t help your cholesterol numbers one week prior to your health checkup, reaching out to new contacts when you’ve just lost your job won’t quickly solve your employment woes. Your best bet is to first consider most people you meet a valuable part of your network. Connect with new colleagues on LinkedIn. After attending a webinar, reach out to thank the panelists and organizers. On you next Zoom event, jot down a few people you’d like to get to know better and follow up. Next, implement Ibarra’s strategy of proactively diversifying your network with industry thought leaders, diverse cultures, geographies, ethnic and age groups, and some super connectors. Once you start building outreach into your routine, it’ll feel like you’ve forgotten something if you don’t engage.

 

While two-thirds of Americans believe technology will eventually take over about 50% of current roles, over 80% of those same people believe their roles won’t be impacted. We need to face reality. Our careers will morph and change with innovation, which is moving at an accelerated pace, and no one is going to manage your career as well as you.

Happy hunting.

 

Forbes.com | October 20, 2020 | Dawn Graham 

Got Kids?: What You Need to Get Hired in 2020. (i.e. Job Trends)

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Welcome to 2020, a new year and a brand new decade offering you the perfect opportunity to find the job of your dreams. 2020 follows a year that brought us an unemployment rate at a record 50-year low of 3.7 percent. This is an excellent time to find the job of your dreams, as long as you know where to look for the jobs. Currently, the recruiting industry, like many industries, is facing a war for talent. 

As a leader of a company that recruits for 150+ clients including numerous Fortune 500 companies and many government agencies across the country, I see trends evolving that will affect a job search. There are many jobs available, but not enough candidates skilled to fill these jobs. Before we get into the skills needed to acquire these hot jobs, it’s important to recognize the cultural shifts occurring in the world of work. If you’re aware of these trends they can guide you in your job search. 

Knowledge Work Rules

First off, the U.S. is continuing the long-term trend towards being a knowledge worker-based economy. Compounded with the important push to increase women and people of color in STEM-driven industries and roles, many companies are beginning to normalize remote work and flexible schedules. This allows companies to be based anywhere, opening up the pool of talent. If you don’t live near Silicon Valley, Seattle, or New York, you may still be able to work for a startup or Big Tech company, if you have the skills they are seeking. 

 

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of the article:

Automation Creates New Opportunities

As technological innovations such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and robotics continue to mature, we’ll see major changes across the board in all industries. Automation is set to shift work away from rote tasks that can be completed efficiently via AI. In automation’s wake, new positions will emerge that co-exist and support AI. 

Strong Workplace Culture is an Attractor 

In addition to this major driving force of change, there is a continued increase in strong workplace culture as a requirement for workers and job seekers alike. Companies that do not create a diverse and inclusive workplace will be at a loss, as a strong workplace culture is linked to talent attraction, innovation, and better productivity. When seeking a job, target companies that you have researched to be certain their culture aligns with your values. 

Contingent Work Opportunities in 2020

Contingent work offers many benefits that align with the trends listed above. Contingent work is flexible, skills-focused, and offers opportunities that may allow workers to get their foot in the door in any industry. Contingent recruiting firms provide all types of jobs to their clients, including business and professional services, light and heavy industrial, healthcare, and IT roles. There are numerous opportunities available to work for top companies. Many clients are known to provide formalized training to contingent workers, enabling upskilling necessary to stay ahead in the workforce. Contingent work also offers job opportunities for those with expert- or advanced-level niche work experience, especially in the IT and professional services sectors. Since hiring is based predominately on skills, Contingent positions are normally not plagued by a gender gap, ageism, or other problematic issues. 

As a company that hires 10,000 Contingent workers every year, we see popular jobs such as: 

These roles require numerous skills, but these top skills are the ones that are the most sought after:

  1. People skills/EQ: Candidates with good people skills are very marketable. The ability to communicate effectively, be adaptable, have empathy for others, be creative, and have a deep understanding of human behavior sets you apart from the crowd. Our clients often go out of their way to retain candidates with good people skills.
  2. Program and Project Management skills: Candidates who have these are effective leaders. They understand risk and cost management, are great communicators, have knowledge of Salesforce CRM, Agile, are tech-savvy, and critical thinkers. 
  3. Data Analysis skills: Candidates who have programming languages such as SQL, R or Python specific to the position, the ability to mine and visualize data, critical thinking and reasoning abilities, and expert mathematical abilities are in demand. The next level of data analysis will require predictive modeling and machine learning knowledge, so those interested in applying for data science positions should consider upskilling for marketability.  
  4. Cloud computing skills: Many positions such as software and DevOps engineers, back-end developers, systems administrators, and Data Scientists will increasingly require cloud skills as this job market continues to expand. There are numerous opportunities in SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, and Google Cloud are top cloud providers currently.
  5. Programming Languages and Operating Systems skills: Knowledge of languages such as SQL, Java, JavaScript, Python, .NET, C#, HTML, and CSS is critical for a number of IT positions. Experience with Linux and Unix is also in demand.

The 2020s are set to bring numerous advancements by way of technology. The contingent and gig workforces will both become more mainstream, as an increasing number of workers opt for flexibility. AI will require full-time traditional workers to upskill their knowledge and become adaptable to rapid changes. For those seeking to become more flexible, or to have the option to work for a variety of companies instead of limiting themselves to only one, contingent work is a great option that can lead you to the career of your dreams. 

Author:  Sue Bhatia founded Rose International, the 24th largest IT staffing company in the U.S. Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, Rose International employs thousands of people in all 50 states, and has offices and service delivery centers in 20+ U.S. cities and India.

 

GlassDoor.com | January 21, 2020

#BestofFSCBlog :Got Kids? Important Skills to Develop for Success in 2020 & Beyond. Must Read!

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For workers across all sectors, the ground is shifting quickly. The way that people used to build lasting careers, often through becoming “deep domain experts,” is no longer enough to guarantee a future. New technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are supplanting many traditional roles and changing many others. As the McKinsey Global Institute puts it,

“All workers will need to adapt as machines take over routine and some physical tasks.”

This doesn’t have to be bad news. In fact, the changes underway can bring new, exciting opportunities for everyone who’s ready and willing to grow and develop new skills. 

Through my work at Filtered, a company that takes a technological and human approach to recommending learning opportunities, I’ve come to see which skills are indispensable — and most likely to empower you to succeed in the decade ahead.

Understanding ‘power skills’

For years, workers have been hearing that data science and other related skills are in extremely high demand. (“You probably should have majored in computer science,” Quartz once said in a headline.) 

That demand remains. Organizations need technological know-how to stay on top of new trends and to try to fend off against disruption. But these are no longer the skills companies need most.

The most important skills today are those that are usually called “soft” skills. Now, some call them “power” skills or “behavioral” skills.

These skills include collaboration, communication, creative thinking, work ethic, teamwork, networking, decision making, positivity, time management, motivation, versatility, problem-solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution.

“Executives’ views regarding the priority of critical skills have taken a turn from digital and technical to behavioral,” IBM’s Institute for Business Value reported recently in a survey of thousands of executives. The top four skills that executives deem most critical for today’s workforce are: agility; time management; teamwork and effective communication.

How to Identify and Develop Soft Skills

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Why these needs will last 

Change is happening at an unprecedented pace, as technological progress (including digital transformation) and global political unrest make for a highly unpredictable world. Smart businesses recognize that it’s very difficult to know how they’ll have to pivot in the future. Change really is the only constant.

At a time like this, what organizations need most are individuals and teams that can adapt and grow, helping the business to survive and even thrive. This is why developing a “growth mindset,” an ability to act mindfully, and a high level of resilience have become much more pragmatic and important than ever. All these power skills can, in fact, be learned and improved. 

In-demand technical skills

Of course, traditional skills, sometimes called “core skills,” will also continue to give you a leg up over competitors as you work to build a career, so it’s important not to neglect them. The IBM survey found that the most critical are “analytics skills and business acumen,” followed by “technical core capabilities for STEM” and “basic computer and software/application skills.” That last category includes Excel, which I advise everyone to become proficient at.

Interestingly, foreign language proficiency is in IBM’s top 10 as well. Even with technologies like Google Translate helping people have conversations across different languages, the ability to effortlessly communicate with people around the world and understand nuances and turns of phrase can go a long way in helping build relationships — which remain the purview of humanity, not machines.

Impressive Skills to Include on Your Resume

How to learn

The world is filled with learning resources, from articles to TED Talks, podcasts, infographics, well-chosen Twitter accounts and, of course, books. Fortunately, many companies are investing heavily in making resources available for their employees. Just as importantly, some businesses are carving out time in workers’ schedules to allow them to develop new skills.

Still, for workers this process can seem overwhelming. With a world of resources available, where do you begin? 

Some top employers are taking new steps to help with this. Understanding the need to offer long-term career paths, they’re starting to focus their learning resources specifically on the kinds of skills they need. They’re aligning their self-directed learning cultures with changes underway inside the business. They’re saying to employees: here are the skills we expect we’ll continue to need in the years ahead. And here are some tools to help you learn them. It’s as though, rather than being dropped into a field of learning and told to walk in any direction, employees are given a digital map with GPS and multiple destinations available.

I recommend that workers actively take advantage of these opportunities. And when you interview with new companies, ask them about their skill needs and learning resources. The more you show an interest in developing the skills needed for the future, the more desirable a candidate you become — and any company will be lucky to have you.

Author: Marc Zao-Sanders is co-founder and CEO of Filtered, which helps individuals and companies learn to become more productive. 

 

GlassDoor.com | January 6, 2020

#CareerAdvice : #FutureTrends – 5 Personality Traits That Will Help You Compete In A Changing Economy. Best Two(2) Min Read!

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As a job candidate, you might be checking all the boxes when it comes to the right skills, job experience and day-to-day work, but as it turns out, your personality also plays into your career success. In fact, studies suggest that unique personality traits are directly related to job performance.

“The world of work is changing rapidly. Globalization, automation, the gig economy, among other factors are all contributing not only to the skills required for success but to the personality types that will prosper,” says Ron Mitchell, founder and CEO of Virgil Careers, a talent development and recruiting platform that helps job seekers land and succeed in their dream roles. As a career expert, Ron has helped thousands of students and professional secure jobs, transition careers and advance.

“While we find all types of personalities in the workplace today, there are certain personality traits that position you better (or worse) for advancement in the future world of work,” continues Ron. But which personality traits will help you thrive? Here are just some of the personality traits that are prone for success within the current workplace:

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Adventurousness

Willingness to travel, live abroad and meet people from different backgrounds are all assets in a global economy. Adventurous candidates are more likely to take risks in their careers, choosing less stable but more innovative companies that can really foster their growth. They might also be more willing to develop new skills, enabling them to work cross-functionally.

Assertiveness

Assertive personalities will be successful due to their willingness to pursue innovative solutions. They are more likely to launch initiatives within their companies because of their ability to convince (with stats and information) to support their ideas.

Creativity

Creative personalities will remain competitive and thrive in a global economy. Such employees are more likely to keep pace with ever-changing demands within the workplace and tackle new challenges that they can solve creatively.

Perceptiveness

Perceptive employees will be able to make sense of observations and new information, and apply them to finding solutions. They will also more easily adapt to foreign environments and effectively engage with people from different backgrounds.

Industriousness

Industrious personalities will be the most determined in pursuing access to new information, networks of people and learning opportunities. These employees will continue to enrich themselves professionally, but also contribute to their company’s growth.

Author: Shelcy V. Joseph

I am what you could call a multipotentialite—someone with different passions and interests. I dabble in different things, but at the core of everything I do is creative …

Forbes.com | July 29, 2019

#CareerAdvice : #YourCareer – Do These Things to Stay Competitive in the Job Market.

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Between artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning, the Internet of Things, and more, many of today’s most cutting-edge technological advances are iterating at a dizzying pace. Add to that fears of automation and an upcoming recession, and employees are facing serious pressure to stay relevant in an ever-changing work environment. But what exactly is on the horizon, and how can you prepare for it now?

To find out, we turned to the winners of Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work in 2019, some of the most innovative organizations out there today. Here’s what they said employees need to know–master these skills now, and you’re guaranteed to stand out above the rest.

SHARPEN YOUR DATA SKILLS

At this point, “data” has become a ubiquitous buzzword in the business world–but for good reason. Technological advances over the past couple of decades have provided companies with an unprecedented level of information, and even the most traditional companies are embracing it in order to make more strategic decisions.

“I’m seeing a few key trends continue and emerge as we look ahead to the new year, including the importance of being data-led. As a team, we’re leveraging our data to field new ideas and innovation and inform decisions,” said Rick Jensen, senior vice president, People & Places at Intuit.

“Developing digital skills is more important than ever,” agreed Kevin Peesker, Microsoft Canada president. “I am not speaking about coders or programmers–the shift is every role being impacted by digital, and possessing an awareness of technical and data-infused possibility will be fundamental to making an impact.”

Data proficiency means more than just glancing at numbers and drawing a conclusion, though. Matin Movassate, CEO of data analytics firm Heap, points out that today’s employees need to be able to determine whether or not their data is reliable.

“This grand, AI-driven future can’t happen without a complete, trustworthy dataset,” Movassate said. “So if prospective data engineers, data analysts, data scientists, and business intelligence leaders can maintain a maniacal focus on the completeness and quality of their data, they’ll be well-prepared for anything the future has in store.”

 

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COMMIT TO CONTINUOUS LEARNING

Data interpretation/analysis is certainly one skill that will be essential to the future, but with how rapidly technology is evolving, today’s workers need to stay abreast of as many cutting-edge areas as possible. After all, any one of them could completely rewrite the rules of work.

“If you think about certain roles today–cognitive data scientist, machine learning engineer–many of those roles didn’t exist 10 years ago, and not only did they not exist, we hadn’t even imagined what they could be. We believe it will be the same 10 years from now,” Peesker said.

A few trends to stay on top of in particular include “SaaS, cloud computing, mobile, user experience, AI, and machine learning,” shared Aron Ain, CEO of HR technology company Kronos Incorporated.

“New ways of working will include more design thinking and working in an agile environment. The rapid development and creative application of new technologies will be applied across the business spectrum, from blockchain to supply chain,” added Manny Maceda, worldwide managing partner at Bain & Company. “Job seekers can prepare by committing to ongoing, self-directed learning.”

Not sure where to start? Subscribing to publications that delve into these topics is always a good idea–a quick Google search should yield plenty of results–as is exploring relevant courses on online platforms like Coursera, edX and Udacity.

DEMONSTRATE ADAPTABILITY

With all of the rapid innovation occurring today, it’s critical that workers are able to keep up the pace when the inevitable changes occur.

“Technology is changing at a breathtaking pace, both with the products we develop and offer, as well as the products we use to run our business. We remain deeply focused on embracing new technology, innovating in all areas, breaking what is not broken to make it better, [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][learning] from our competitors as a means to improve, and on and on,” Ain said. “We’re not only going to be part of the future of work–we’re focused on helping to shape it.”

This breakneck speed isn’t just limited to technology companies, though. Other industries, like aviation, have adopted a nimble mind-set as well.

“To be successful in [the aviation] industry, one must be agile and able to manage large volumes of change,” explained Greg Muccio, director of people at Southwest Airlines. “There are many variables that are outside of our control that impact our operations, so there is more pressure to adapt. Change is constant in the airline industry.”

PUT CUSTOMERS FIRST

It might seem counterintuitive, but as technology continues to revolutionize the way we work, a human-centered approach becomes increasingly important. That’s why Intuit puts such an emphasis on what they call “customer obsession.”

“Intuit was customer-obsessed before it was popular, but we’re continuing to hire for, and teach, capabilities that fall in love with the customer problem–not the solution. We want and need all of our employees to really fall in love with the problem in order to best solve it,” Jensen shared. “Diversity of thought, background, and craft will help us move the needle on solving problems for our customers quickly.”

Human connection is especially crucial in industries like healthcare, where positive patient-provider relationships are key to favorable outcomes.

“At the end of the day, healthcare candidates must be able to stay connected to the human side of research and patient care. Approaching patients with care and compassion are traits that technology can never replace,” said Dana Bottenfield, VP of human resources at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH COLLEAGUES

A people-centric approach isn’t just for those outside of your organization, however.

“Successful job seekers need to have a balance of strong subject matter expertise with a focus on getting results through teamwork,” Bottenfield explained.

“Job seekers need to be comfortable working collaboratively with a broader range of people–data scientists, software developers, and design thinkers–to deliver results,” Maceda elaborated. “The new norm is being able to work in new ways and with a more diverse set of talent.”

And as companies grow larger and more complex, maintaining this connection–no matter your location–is imperative.

“As companies continue to move to platforms with more interdependencies across the entire organization, top talent needs the ability to work seamlessly across the organization,” Jensen added.

The key to doing that? Trust, Ain said.

“Technologies like our own are empowering employees to work their way, from anytime, anywhere. Trust is a two-way street, one that’s earned through transparency, reliability, communication, and performance. This world of flexibility can be wonderful–and trust is key to making it work.”

 

FastCompany.com | January 24, 2019 | BY EMILY MOORE—5 MINUTE READ

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Your #Career :The #FutureOfWork – How to Prepare your Kids for Jobs that Don’t Exist Yet…. #ArtificialIntelligence will Rule the Jobs of the #Future , so Learning How to Work with It Will be Key. But the Skills Needed Might Not be What you Expect.

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With total robot domination seemingly impending, preparing the next generation for the future of work can feel like a lost cause. But fear not, the future may be brighter than expected.

“There’s three job opportunities coming in the future,” says Avi Goldfarb, coauthor of Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence. He divides them up into people who build artificial intelligence, people who tell the machines what to do and determine what to do with their output, and, finally, celebrities. This last category comprises actors, sports players, artists, writers, and other such luminaries surrounding the entertainment industry.

A 2017 report from Gartner concludes that artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it kills. In particular, the report singles out healthcare and education as areas ripe for growth. But the handling of artificial intelligence is where Goldfarb thinks an overwhelming number of those new jobs will be created.

“We’re moving toward more equality of opportunity,” says Goldfarb, noting the steady increase in overall access to technological tools. “But that doesn’t mean equality of outcomes.”

He thinks even human-centric positions in nursing and education will require a proficient understanding of artificially intelligent tools as the technology becomes a more routine facet of those jobs. For example, to assist with home healthcare for elderly populations, little robots have emerged to help patients remember to take their medications or go for a walk. These bots are still nascent, but it’s not hard to imagine a world in which nurses have to understand how to help patients set reminders or even be able to communicate with these devices remotely as a way of checking in on a patient as part of their jobs.

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“The most valuable combinations of skills are going to be people who both have good training in computer science, who know how the machines work, but also understand the needs of society and the organization, and so have an understanding of humanities and social sciences,” he says. “That combination, already in the market, is where the biggest opportunities are.”

Related: Welcome to the first day of work for the class of 2025

HUMANITIES

So how does one prepare to lead these artificially intelligent machines into the new world? Oddly enough, a liberal arts education might be the best antidote to automation, says Goldfarb. While he believes that most people will need a basic understanding of computer science, he thinks that studying art, philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, and neuroscience could be key to preparing for the future. These studies will help young people to have a broad range of knowledge that they can use to put artificial intelligence to its best use.

Experts who study the future of work agree that our ability to make sense of the world is our biggest asset in the wake of automation. While artificial intelligence is good at narrow, repetitive tasks, humans are good at coming up with creative solutions. Anything you can do to get your child thinking creatively will no doubt help prepare her for joining the working world.

DON’T SPECIALIZE

In addition to embracing the humanities, Amir Orad, CEO of business analytics software Sisense, says that children should be multidisciplined. “Our tradition of schooling from the Industrial Age makes you really, really good at one thing,” he says. “I think that’s very dangerous for the next generation.”

Parents should encourage kids to be good at more than one thing as a way of being flexible, he says. By choosing interdisciplinary courses of study, kids will not only develop a variety of skills, they’ll also be knowledgable about more than one subject area, giving them some adaptability as jobs change. Another way to think about it? Try out a lot of different stuff. Having a variety of experience will prove valuable in the future, he says.

Related: These are the 5 “super skills” you need for jobs of the future

STAY TECH SAVVY

One more piece of advice from both Goldfarb and Orad is to expect the unexpected. “Fifty years ago, the idea that people would be social media marketers wasn’t imaginable,” says Goldfarb. Artificial intelligence and automation will change the jobs landscape in ways that can’t be anticipated. Kids should be engaged with both culture and the latest technology, he says. Whether that means engaging on a new social media app or learning how to edit video for fun, kids should be allowed to play intuitively with technology.

Because of how cheap technology has gotten, Goldfarb says, this means that more people have more access to the kinds of technology and tools that will prepare them for the future. However, that doesn’t mean that all kids will be on equal footing in this technologically advanced future. There are still pockets of the U.S. without quality internet. The Federal Communications Commission reports that 24 million people don’t have high-speed internet. Meanwhile, roughly 11% of Americans don’t have broadband at all, according to PEW.

“We’re moving toward more equality of opportunity,” says Goldfarb, noting the steady increase in overall access to technological tools. “But that doesn’t mean equality of outcomes.”

 

FastCompany.com | June 27, 2018 | BY RUTH READER 3 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : Screw #EmotionalIntelligence –Here’s The Key To The #Future Of #Work …This Y Combinator Alum & Former #IBMWatson Strategist Believes the Market Value of One Particular Capability will Soon Outpace EQ.

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On the walk back from her high school, Max drops by the corner bodega to pick up a NeuroStim pill, a prescription neuroplasticity stimulator. She’ll pop it at exactly 10 a.m. tomorrow as she sits down to take the “AEI.” NeuroStim will accelerate her brain’s ability to create new synaptic pathways, helping Max quickly learn new behaviors and spot new connections when exposed to rapidly changing stimuli. The AEI is a standardized test, implemented 10 years ago, in 2035, to replace the SAT. It has become a globally accepted metric for aptitude and projected performance in the modern workplace.

Colloquially called “the Qs,” the AEI tests three variables:

  • Adaptability quotient (AQ)
  • Emotional quotient (EQ)
  • Intellectual quotient (IQ)

While each “Q” matters, the AEI weights AQ the most. Strong scores in adaptability mean that you’re eligible for the “salaried track,” which leads to a three-year contract with an employer that commits significant sums toward your retraining every one to six months.

With lower scores, you must rely on the “gig track,” which can mean more flexibility and higher near-term rewards, but only short-duration contracts and no supported retraining. There is no inherent safety net if you bet too long on the wrong gigs in dying industries instead of continually refocusing on emergent needs.

Welcome to the future.

Related: This Is The Mind-Set You’ll Need To Thrive In The Future Of Work

WHY ADAPTABILITY WILL SOON MATTER MORE THAN EVER

It’s no secret that technology is changing at an exponential rate, requiring us to learn faster than humans have ever had to before. The behaviors we’ve honed for decades will become obsolete in a few short years. Our off-the-shelf “neuroplasticity” might not be enough for us to succeed in a 45-year (or, likely, longer) career, where each year’s work dramatically differs from the last’s. As a result, our “adaptability quotient” (AQ) will soon become the primary predictor of success, with general intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ) both taking a back seat.

In the late 1990s, we witnessed an emotional intelligence boom, with scholars and psychologists led by Daniel Goleman arguing that we’d been over-indexing on IQ instead of prioritizing the “people side” of smart. In business, the concept of EQ was course altering, taking even Goleman by surprise, “particularly in the areas of leadership and employee development,” as he reflected in 2012.

But while EQ is important, it’s only one leg of the stool. I subscribe to psychologist Carol Dweck’s “growth mind-set”: IQ and EQ aren’t fixed properties but can be developed through dedication and hard work. I believe AQ works similarly: Some of us are born with more potential to adapt, but each of us can get better at it over time. We all have that friend who loathes change and another who thrives on new experiences. We’re already aware that AQ exists and varies from person to person, but we’re not talking about it enough–and don’t have a compelling way to test or improve it.

To help fix that, it’s worth looking at a few examples of how AQ plays out at societal, organizational, and individual levels.

Related: 5 Habits That Let Emotionally Intelligent People Adapt To Anything

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NATIONAL AQ: SWEDEN VERSUS THE UNITED STATES

The New York Times published a fascinating article last month on Sweden’s approach to automation and the impact to their collective livelihood. Times reporter Peter S. Goodman interviews Mika Persson, a remote mine operator who tests self-driving vehicles to replace truck drivers.

Persson doesn’t fear automation because of Sweden’s strong social safety net; the government provides healthcare and free education, and employers finance extensive job-training programs. As the Swedish employment minister tells Goodman, “The jobs disappear, and then we train people for new jobs. We won’t protect jobs. But we will protect workers.” Plus, Swedish unions “generally embrace automation as a competitive advantage that makes jobs more secure,” Goodman writes.

He notes that the U.S. healthcare system, by contrast, is largely dependent on employers, so “losing a job can trigger a descent to catastrophic depths. It makes workers reluctant to leave jobs to forge potentially more lucrative careers. It makes unions inclined to protect jobs above all else.” Goodman cites a recent Pew survey, in which 72% of Americans report worrying about automation, alongside a European Commission survey finding 80% of Swedes feeling positively about it. If the AEI test existed today, I think Sweden as a whole would receive a higher AQ score than the U.S.

ORGANIZATIONAL AQ: IBM VERSUS KODAK

According to a 2012 report by Innosight that crunches almost a century’s worth of market data, corporations in the S&P 500 Index in 1965 stayed in the index for an average of 33 years. By 1990, average tenure in those upper ranks had narrowed to 20 years, then fell to 18 years in 2012. It’s now forecast to shrink to 14 years by 2026. At the current churn rate, writes AEI’s Mark J. Perry about these findings, about half of S&P 500 firms will be replaced over the next 10 years as we enter “a stretch of accelerating change in which lifespans of big companies are getting shorter than ever.”

IBM, my previous employer, is among the 12% of companies that made both the 1955 Index and the 2016 Index. Why has it succeeded for so long? I’d argue–and I’ve seen it firsthand–that IBM has a strong organizational AQ. On Day 1 of my corporate training in Herndon, Virginia (mandatory for every U.S. employee), I distinctly recall a slide about IBM’s core competency: IBM is not a hardware company, nor is it a software company, it harped–IBM sells innovation.

Innovation naturally evolves, thus IBM has well positioned itself to ride the shifting tides over the years. From 1880 to 1924, IBM sold tabulating machines; in 1933, electric typewriters; in the 1960s, it was one of the first on the market with mainframe computers. Since then, IBM has profited on everything from PCs to scanning tunneling microscopes to software and management consulting. While at IBM Watson in 2014, I worked with a partner who was one of IBM’s top machine-learning experts. Fast forward to 2017, and his LinkedIn profile now reads “Bitcoin & Digital Currency Industry Expert.” IBM changes course quickly, always in the direction of the money.

Contrast IBM’s trajectory with Kodak’s–the nearly cliché case study in failure to adapt. Starting in the ’90s, Kodak began a steep decline in the face of mobile technology and, eventually, social media photo sharing. Its business model was deeply rooted in photographic film, which proved to be a dying art. The company struggled to capitalize on new revenue streams and was slow to adopt relevant products like digital printing and digital picture frames. Unlike IBM, Kodak was not organizationally adaptable enough to survive, and was ultimately forced to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012.

INDIVIDUAL AQ: YANGYANG CHENG

In 2003, Yangyang Cheng was a recent college graduate and CPA working as an auditor for Ernst & Young in Hong Kong. By 2007, she’d moved across the globe to teach Chinese language and culture as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University, while taking improv lessons at the famed Upright Citizen’s Brigade at night.

In 2009, Cheng parlayed her cross-cultural understanding into a role as the host of Hello! Hollywood, a TV show filmed in L.A. but aired in mainland China. The show was a hit; 300 million Chinese viewers watched Cheng bring the “Hollywood lifestyle” into their homes. In 2012, despite her success, she pivoted for the fourth time to create “Yoyo Chinese,” an educational video platform to help English speakers learn Mandarin online. Yoyo Chinese has since delivered over 12 million lessons to over 300,000 students worldwide. In my favorite video below (viewed more than 48,000 times), Cheng teaches Mandarin through the songs in La La Land.

Cheng is clearly highly adaptable, not only because she’s navigated four successful careers in under 15 years, but also because of the growth mind-set she’s shown at each step. She is motivated by curiosity–hence the nightly improv classes–and able to see future themes across her experiences, tying threads between her professorship and entertainment roles into a big vision for Yoyo Chinese.

IBM, Sweden, and Yanyang Cheng are enough to convince me that we might be well on our way toward a future of high-school AQ tests and NeuroStim pills. But before any of that happens, I expect these other things will:

  • As a society, we’ll agree that adaptability is an important indicator of future success for which we need a solid metric: AQ.
  • We’ll seek new ways both test to test our AQ and improve it over time.
  • A sizable industry will emerge to boost our AQ, from pharmaceuticals to training, games, and media–and maybe even a TV show hosted by Yangyang!

No matter what, though, the future is fast approaching–and we’ll all need to adapt to it.

 

FastCompany.com | January 29, 2018 | BY NATALIE FRATTO  7 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : This Is The Hidden Challenge In The Future Of Work…New Research Suggests we Need to Stop Worrying about Robots Taking our Jobs and Concentrate on Workforce Development.

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On the heels of a mostly positive jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (4.6% unemployment is the lowest it’s been in nine years), the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) released a more sobering snapshot of the world of work.
FutureView

A briefing by MGI director James Manyika, compiled from the company’s extensive research, took a deeper dive into employment numbers. He writes:

In the United States and the 15 core European Union countries (E.U.-15), there are 285 million adults who are not in the labor force—and at least 100 million of them would like to work more. Some 30% to 45% of the working-age population around the world is underutilized—that is, unemployed, inactive, or underemployed. This translates into some 850 million people in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Japan, Brazil, China, and India alone.

Manyika says that unemployment figures typically get the most attention at the expense of those who are underemployed. Indeed, the latest figures from the BLS indicate that the labor force participation rate (a combined total of those who are either working or actively seeking work) is just over 62%, which represents a steady decline since 2000. Parsing the meaning of this decrease is complicated, yet it is often referred to in the broadest sense as proof that the labor market is shrinking due to a variety of factors. The result, regardless of the cause, is a lot of “untapped human potential,” according to Manyika.

THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

This has serious economic consequences that affect every country. Wage stagnation has affected advanced economies despite increases in productivity. The brief also states that globally, 655 million fewer women are economically active than men. In a previous report, MGI revealed that advancing women’s equality could add $12 trillion to the global GDP by 2025.

 

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WHY MORE PEOPLE AREN’T WORKING

Why is this happening? The MGI brief offers several reasons, including the fact that education hasn’t keep pace with the skills needed for a changing workforce.

McKinsey research found as many as 40% of employers in nine countries said lack of skills was the main reason for entry-level job vacancies. Sixty percent of them said that new graduates were not adequately prepared to work. They cited the lack of both technical and soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and punctuality as reasons they couldn’t fill open positions. A survey conducted by PayScale reached a similar conclusion. Chief among the complaints by hiring managers were that communication, leadership, ownership, and teamwork were missing in this new crop of workers.

The brief also found that cross-border migration has a somewhat negative impact on the labor force. Manyika writes, “Migration boosts global productivity, but its consequences are often feared by native workers, who face labor market disconnects and a lack of well-paid jobs.” He also notes that in the midst of such challenging labor market conditions, “popular sentiment has moved against immigration.”

DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF ROBOTS STEALING JOBS

Perhaps surprisingly, the MGI brief reveals that automation won’t vacuum up jobs and further hurt the labor force.

MGI research on the potential for automation across 54 countries and more than 2,000 work activities indicated that the number of jobs that can be fully automated by adapting currently demonstrated technology is less than 5%. That number could go as high as 20% in some middle skill categories.

That said, even if a job isn’t completely taken over by a robot, MGI found that about 60% of all jobs have a least a third of activities that could be automated based on current technology (think: virtual assistants).

For those workers who might still be worrying they’ll become obsolete, Manyika points out, “One-third of new jobs created in the U.S. in the past 25 years were types that did not exist, or barely existed, in areas including IT development, hardware manufacturing, app creation, and IT systems management.” So while part of your job is likely to become automated in the next few years, chances are there will be something else to take its place.

SOME SOLUTIONS

Manyika notes that the net impact of new technologies on employment can be positive. However, there is still a vast number of people across the globe who aren’t tapped into the potential labor market because they don’t have internet access. He writes:

More than 4 billion people, or over half of the world’s population, is still offline. About 75% of this offline population is concentrated in 20 countries, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tanzania, and is disproportionately rural, low income, elderly, illiterate, and female. The value of connecting these people is significant, and as they enter the global digital economy, the world of work will transform in fundamental ways and at an unprecedented pace.

Training for both those who haven’t had online access before and those who are currently employed can go a long way to driving change in the labor force. Manyika also suggests that policy makers offer companies tax and other incentives to invest in their workforce. Public-private partnerships could also advance online infrastructure to facilitate participation.

Additionally, Manyika recommends rethinking incomes. “If automation (full or partial) does result in a significant reduction in employment and/or greater pressure on wages,” he explains, “some ideas such as universal basic income, conditional transfers, and adapted social safety nets could be considered and tested.”

 

FastCompany.com | LYDIA DISHMAN 12.07.16 5:00 AM