The skills you need to develop now for careers of the future

If anyone doubted that the world of work was changing, the pandemic must surely have removed those doubts.

Desiree Hugo, head of academics at ADvTECH Schools said, “It is no longer sufficient to focus purely on academics, and schools need to make a concerted effort to holistically develop, on an ongoing basis, those skills which will provide learners with a strong foundation for the future.”

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“Clearly, our already hugely competitive jobs marketplace is set to become even more so in future, with more people competing for fewer opportunities. It is therefore of crucial importance that we assist the students in our care to become as competitive as possible, by providing them with the skills which will set them apart in future.”

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She said ADvTECH Schools have, since 2015, sought to actively include these universal skills as an integral part of all curricula, regardless of the subject.

“These skills should not be taught by way of a separate, independent curriculum, but rather incorporated within all general learning, as well as across all subject-specific learning.”

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“In order to develop these skills, students need frameworks, examples, models, clear expectations, developmental targets and both multiple and regular opportunities to put them to practice. Teachers should provide students with regular and specific feedback on the development of these skills through their learning engagements, and formative and summative assessments should take place within the different classes.”

Hugo added that in addition to developing the WEF 2025 Skills, high schools and higher education institutions should also ensure they provide sufficient opportunity to develop those technical and future-facing skills that will be in high demand in the workplace in coming years, instead of merely the historically available basket of academic subjects.

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So, future career paths to look out for include: Artificial Intelligence, Big data, the Internet of Things, non-humanoid robotics and encryption. These new technologies are set to drive future growth across industries, as well as to increase the demand for new job roles and skillsets.

“Changing trends will undoubtedly impact on the workplace of the future, and the jobs we take for granted today may be displaced in future. The ability of someone to navigate the workforce of the future will depend not just on their occupation but also on their broader skill set which will enable them to perform those functions which robots still, for now, can’t.”

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