We have spent nearly two decades of the 21st century and witnessed the tremendous development of technology that makes it easier for people in life and work. But every time technology moves one step further, we have more reason to fear that these tireless machines will replace people. As a person living in the digital age, have you noticed the changes that occurred at your workplace? Are they or will they affect you? Are you ready for the change?
How can machines replace us?
Stop thinking about flying cars and be more realistic, you are familiar with the automated switchboard when calling to some companies, but you must have recently received calls from the “robot”, it can talk with you and learn more about your needs to offer the suitable services. Or you can enter a shop without a seller and can completely leave with the items you want, just by paying by machine. Those are the two most obvious examples of technology that has replaced certain human positions. General features of these two types of jobs are those that do not require complex skills, professional knowledge, and repetitive nature. Machines can replace people who do such jobs.
Machines are replacing human work
If the nature of your work is not like that, this is still not the time for you to rejoice, because technological breakthroughs are happening every day that we will not know what we should face, so everything needs to be prepared. But looking at the more positive side, people are still the creators of machines and though we try to make machines operating itself in the future without people, but right now, and soon, we still play an important role in developing machines. The important thing now is that we need to immediately develop our own skills to promptly respond to technological changes, instead of worrying that technology will replace us.
Skill trends in the digital age
According to the 2018 WEFFuture of Work Report, there are 10 skills that people need to develop in the new era. Among them are the following outstanding skills: complex problem-solving skills, creativity, human management, cooperation with people and cognitive flexibility. Also according to the report “Skill shift: Automation and the future of workforce” – McKinsey, 2018, has given 3 skill sets that employees need to equip immediately to not be “left behind”. Artificial intelligence and automation have changed the definition of many jobs. According to the above study, people need to have (1) higher cognitive (these skills include advanced literacy and writing, quantitative and statistical skills, critical thinking and complex information processing); (2) advanced soft skills (advanced communication and negotiation, empathy, the ability to learn continuously, to manage others and to be adaptable and (3) technological capabilities (including all knowledge, from basic to advanced information technology skills, data analysis, engineering and research).
Creative is still a necessary skill in the future
From these studies, we can note that employees to maintain their work and develop more on their career path, need to develop these skills. These skills seem familiar, but we need to advance it because future situations will be more complex and require a combination of skills to solve the problem.
Improve your career with a proper development plan
Do not stop at understanding the trend of skills in a digital age, employees need to embark on the process of developing these skills to capture every upcoming opportunity. A personal development plan will never be excessive in this era, make sure your plan has the following:
- Get accustomed to new technologies: Be knowledgeable about what is happening around you. Try to learn how to apply technology in your current role. Certainly, someone has planned a digital roadmap for their work and it is time for you to be ready to catch up if you still want to compete in the labor market. Continue to look for opportunities that give you more space to interact with new technology, whether it is a seminar, a training course or an online learning platform. Just
- Train yourself: First, learn how to learn. After understanding the nature and how to learn effectively, for advanced skills, search for yourself or propose to your company: online courses, short and long-term courses, coaching or mentoring programs,… so you can improve the skills you need for your current and future work.
Plan for yourself the strategy for skill advancement
The skill trend we just mentioned above will be important for an employee in the future workforce. The future of work will change, leading to new demands from businesses that employees need to meet. Employees need to understand what changes they are facing and constantly learn to complete their skills set to cope with those changes. Only when employers and employees work more closely together in the development of the skills of the workforce can businesses improve their business in a digital age.
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