The future of work is unpredictable as new technologies continuously reshape the job landscape. Jobs that existed just 10 years ago like UX designer, app developer, and social media marketing manager have now become mainstream professions employing millions globally. At the same time, new roles emerge while others become obsolete. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report, employers expect over 20% of current roles to either disappear or fundamentally change in the next 5 years as automation, AI, and the gig economy disrupt the workforce.In this climate of rapid change, how can we prepare students for careers that may not even exist yet? This article examines the key workforce transformations on the horizon and strategies to equip young learners with the mindset and skills to adapt and thrive in the jobs of tomorrow.
Nurturing Transferable Skills for the Jobs of Tomorrow
As technology progresses, incorporating more automation and artificial intelligence, the nature of jobs will transform, with routine tasks being automated and humans engaging in more imaginative and deep-level thinking aspects of their roles. In the face of impending workforce transformation, the focus needs to be directed towards developing human attributes, along with developing flexible skills that we can apply across various settings.
Therefore, preparing learners for the future is less about teaching specific skills and more about fostering broad skill sets (also known as transferable skills) that encourage flexibility, adaptability, resilience, and creative thinking.
The ‘Future Of Jobs Report 2023’ elaborates on how employers are placing a greater emphasis on “soft” skills over technical skills as it allows one to respond to change better. This is further illustrated in the report, with organizations placing increased importance on the following core skills for the next five years: creative thinking, analytical thinking, technological literacy, curiosity and lifelong learning, resiliency, flexibility, and agility.
Workplace success is becoming less dependent on having content knowledge and more dependent on relating to others and the ability to continuously learn and change. By nurturing key skill areas in students, parents can provide a strong foundation for the jobs of the future. These areas are:
Active learning: When students have choices in how and what they are learning, they become actively engaged in the process and encourage continuous learning. This method of learning prepares them for a constantly changing environment.
Cognitive Skills: Cognitive Skills: These make up foundational skills for reading, writing, mathematics, critical thinking, and problem solving. Cognitive skills help students understand and analyze information. Technological and digital acumen builds on these cognitive skills, which will also be key skills required for future jobs. Having strong cognitive abilities like critical thinking, math, and problem solving will provide the fundamental competencies needed in the workforce of the future.
Social Skills: These are important not just to communicate effectively but also to understand social contexts. They also develop social-emotional competencies that help one engage more in teamwork, exude confidence, show empathy, express non-verbal communication, and create community partnerships.
Intrapersonal Skills: Social-emotional competencies positively impact students’ intrapersonal skills. As children go through adolescence, their unique experiences with identity will have a strong influence on their self-esteem, career aspirations, and future goals. Helping them develop self-awareness and self-management aids them in building a stronger sense of self, responsibility, and aspirations.
How to Prepare Your Pre-Teen or Teen for Future Jobs
The jobs of the future will require skills that may seem far removed from traditional academics. As a parent, how can you help set your pre-teen or teen up for career success?
Project based learning
Project-based learning is a system of learning where students create a project that may be solving a real-world problem. Encourage your child to research and identify gaps in topics and domains they are most passionate about. Projects could be anything from finding a new way to save energy to creating something helpful for the community. When young learners design their own learning path and find solutions to problems on their own, they develop critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and enhance their learning potential. Research by the Institute of Education Sciences shows that project-based learning is superior when it comes to long-term retention, skill development, and satisfaction of students and teachers, while traditional approaches are more effective for short-term retention.
When students have the opportunity to build or create something of personal interest and to experience the productive struggle of finding solutions or designing approaches that are not easily found or answered elsewhere, they become better prepared for an uncertain future of learning and work.
Interdisciplinary Approach
Rather than seeing subjects like math, science, art, and language in isolation, encourage your child to explore how these areas intersect. The current trend in the workforce indicates that future jobs require skills in different areas more than ever. Learning across subjects opens up many career options. For example, careers in fields like biotechnology or digital design require a combination of scientific knowledge, technological proficiency, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills.
A STEAM curriculum, for example, can build the core skills that students need while blending with technological competencies required for future jobs. Giving learners the opportunity to explore different subject areas can lead students to discover their personal interests and experience more meaningful learning.
Entrepreneurial Skills
Whether your child decides to start their own business or simply wants to be innovative in their career, fostering an entrepreneurial mindset can set them up for success. Entrepreneurial skills will foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and time management skills, as well as lead to other benefits.
Learning entrepreneurial skills or mindset is a hands-on learning process, with students having to work independently as well as collaboratively. This hands-on learning fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and time management skills, as well as lead to other benefits. Students also develop social-emotional learning (SEL) skills by engaging in projects with multiple people at every stage of their project.
As the future of work shifts toward innovation and self-direction, entrepreneurial skills will help your child navigate uncertainty, take initiative, and create opportunities for themselves.
Conclusion: Supporting Future Readiness
The nature of the work is changing, both in the short and long-term, and educators and parents play a critical role in students’ future success.When students are able to connect what they’re learning to their own lives and apply it outside the classroom, the more they’ll see learning as an ongoing process. At Crimson Rise, we offer 1:1 mentorship for students to build a personalized pathway towards purpose and excellence. Our strategists work with each individual student to get to know their strengths, likes, learning preferences, and working style preferences to tailor a custom learning route that aligns with their unique strengths, abilities, and traits. This strategic approach has helped our students gain clarity on their direction, structure a journey aligned to their strengths, and unlock their potential. Whether through writing and publishing books, launching businesses, developing apps, or starting a non-profit, our students have been put on a learning journey through real-time projects that they care about.
If you're a parent looking for new ways to support your child's learning and are interested in our holistic approach, book a free consultation call with our academic advisor.
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