Are you ready for the age of Rapid Reskilling?
Well, you had better start getting your “Reskill On” because times have certainly changed! The days of choosing a single career that is neatly pathed over the next 40 years or so are gone. There is still a debate raging over how many career changes we will experience as well as debate around career vs job change or “Churn” as it is referred to, but either way we can’t deny the fact that industry as we know it, jobs as we know them are rapidly changing.
In an article I read recently WEF quotes the following statistic from the US. Bureau of Labour Statistics “Now the average time in a single job is 4.2 years,” The prediction is that by 2030, 210 million people around the world will have changed occupation. (https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/accelerating-workforce-reskilling-for-the-fourth-industrial-revolution)
My question is then how do we then keep pace? How do we ensure that we stay relevant?
The answer lies in learning to learn, un-learn and re-learn.
Enter the age of Rapid Reskilling. To keep pace and stay relevant you need to be a lifelong, self-directed learner. You need to take charge of your skill development. This of course goes hand in hand with developing a Growth Mindset!
First things first though, you need to take stock of your current skills. What skills have you acquired so far? Expand this to include those learned in your personal life as well. For example, when I was studying my part time job was Latin American and Ballroom instructor. Besides enabling me able to hold my own on the dance floor it taught me so much about creating a great client experience; it also taught me how to perform, i.e. let go of being shy and realise that when you are performing or delivering a message it’s really not about you. Instead, it’s about connecting with the audience, being authentic and allowing them to join in the experience with you.
It also taught me to toughen up – we called it “the Arthur Murray smile” and it was pure personal mastery in action. There was no ‘off-time’ even when you weren’t feeling well. My boss used to say “Go put some lipstick on, if you don’t feel better at least you’ll look better,” what a great lesson in grit!
So, take some time out to reflect on what you have learned so far on your journey through life, and remember it’s not only about technical skills. If you’re not sure where to start try updating your skills profile through Linked In. Read through the 2020 most important skills put forward by the WEF. This kills two birds with one stone in that it gives you an opportunity to sit down, reflect and take stock of your skills, and you end up with an enhanced profile.
Next do some research into your industry and your Job specifically to understand to what extent it is predicted to be disrupted. What is the extent of change and automation that you can expect? Is there still a place for you within that? Once you know this you can then start looking at what skills you will need in order to continue within your role, or what skills you will need to make a job/career change. Either way this leaves you with clear learning goals.
Keep in mind that although technology is causing this major disruption it is also offering us a helping hand. When you know the areas in which you need to develop think about closing your skill gaps using a course through Coursera, can you learn something through a YouTube tutorial, is there a Ted Talk that can help you understand this better etc? Also, don’t only look for content heavy learning, look for people that help you and guide you. Who can you learn from and take time to plan and prioritise your interactions with them.
Finally, stay motivated to keep learning; this is where the Grit comes in, lifelong learning is a marathon not a sprint!