The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos Switzerland is a who's who of world political leaders, Fortune 500 CEOs, media, academics, and even rock and movie stars. As such, it is one of the most important events of the year in which the future of our world is literally designed, and during which a general consensus of global strategies are determined that are then moved through other high-level meetings and think tanks over the rest of the year.
One of the issues on the table for this year's Annual Meeting is the future of work--jobs particularly. According to a recent article in Bloomberg, by the year 2020, robots will eliminate 5 million jobs--that's 5 million jobs! This means we will continue to see rampant disruption across sectors and industries in the near future.
How do you prepare for such a thing? That's the issue at hand--preparation.
In an article, entitled The Future of Jobs, top executives of the World Economic Forum claim that we are approaching a "Fourth Industrial Revolution," as a result of the rise of genetics, nanotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, and biotechnology that will create vast disruptions across sectors and industries; a revolution "more comprehensive and all encompassing than anything we have ever seen," according to the document. These changes, if left unchecked, could result in mass unemployment, talent shortages, and growing inequality.
Here are a few ways you can prepare yourself for this coming 4th Industrial Revolution:
1. Get educated: The world is changing rapidly. The days of having one job for 30+ is over. You are going to have to educate yourself broadly about the social, economic, and technological trends impacting our world; and then you will have to try to get a picture of the future and how those trends will change your job or render it obsolete. If you are a business owner, you are under even greater pressure to do so: you could be working on a 5-year plan now that could crater in six months.
2. Up-skill: If you begin to see your job growing in redundancy, it's time to think about switching careers, and getting another degree or certificate. University may be a place to go, but a good college offering practical degrees in technology or engineering may be best. It all depends on your interests and how they translate into the work world. If you're seeing the writing on the wall and thinking of starting a business, refer back to #1--it may be a good time to strike out on your own.
3. Stay nimble: This may sound ambiguous, but you've got to be quick on your feet and able to meet growing needs as they arise. One day you could be installing technology systems, the next you're designing and selling your own. You have to be able to switch directions and try out new things when you see the end of the line.
4. Collaborate: This is one area that remains important through all this change and complexity. If you have a skill, think about how it can be applied across sectors for better solutions. If you're a business owner, think about how these changes in technology open the door for collaboration in ways you never would have thought. You can't go it alone anymore--the world is too complex. Finding partners in areas you never would have looked before can lead to much-needed opportunity.
5. Think next-gen: If you have children, you have to realize that what they are learning today will be obsolete by the time they graduate from high school. Indeed, they are being educated for jobs that do not exist today. Think about where and how your child is being educated. What they'll need is an education that teaches them how to think, pursue wisdom, and know themselves, rather than focusing on a particular job when they graduate.
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