Washington, DC: I went to college to prepare myself for the workforce. Little did I know that by the time I graduated, I would be vying for positions that I could not have even imagined when I started. There is a popular statistic that estimates 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately work in jobs that do not yet exist. My job today—where I collaborate daily with my team around the world to manage a media company—is proof of that reality.
Increasing technological advancements means the employment landscape is changing faster than ever before. Although fields such as cyber security are projected to create millions of jobs by 2020, it is likely that those jobs will become automated soon after. When technology takes our jobs, what will people like you and me do to earn a living?
As articulated in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, the ability to anticipate and prepare for future skills requirements and job content is critical for businesses, governments, and individuals to fully seize the opportunities presented by these trends—and to mitigate undesirable outcomes. The best way to understand the current and impact of future disruptions on employment levels, skill sets, and recruitment patterns in different industries and countries is to ask today’s largest employers to imagine how jobs in their industry will change by the year 2050.
That’s what we’re doing at the Global Talent Summit.
When we talk about future changes, we mean that drivers of change will impact job creation, job displacement, labor productivity, and widening skills gaps. These drivers are centered on fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, biotechnology, and more. Along with this technological revolution comes a set of broader socio-economic, geopolitical, and demographic developments that also affect real transformation.
Diplomatic Courier believes social dialogue is crucial in order to meet future challenges. Together we can share insight on skillsets for the future, implications for gender parity, change management, and future workforce planning.
The best advice I received in my post graduation job-search was to expect the unexpected…in other words, to plan the best you can for an uncertain future. We continue that mantra at the Global Talent Summit, and we invite you to join us.
