Work Revolution |
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Drones will create new jobs in the future. Picture: AP Photo/Bob Edme Meanwhile, strategy adviser and futurist Ross Dawson predicted new roles in helping computers to emotionally engage with users and in personal reputation management. “Companies hire public relations firms to manage their reputation but now everyone has to be concerned about the things they potentially did years ago that went up on social media that shouldn’t have that can be searched online,” he said. |
DIFFERENT SKILLS IN DEMAND The workers of 2030 will spend twice as much time problem-solving than the workers of today as automation takes over routine tasks and redirects human brainpower. A report from the Foundation for Young Australians predicts 77 per cent more time using science and maths skills, 41 per cent more time on critical thinking, 30 per cent more time learning on the job, and 17 per cent more time using communication and interpersonal skills. |
Bernard Salt, managing director of The Demographics Group, said workers of the future must perfect the art of forming new relationships. “If you are in the same job for 40 years you don’t have to make new relationships (but) if you are changing every two years, you have to be comfortable introducing yourself and being sociable,” he said. “We need a word that means to fearlessly fit in, infiltrate and operate effortlessly in a new situation.” |
Bernard Salt says people will need to feel comfortable forming relationships. Picture: Mark Cranitch. Anne Primus, partner and principal of 6 Degrees Consulting, said the soft skills in demand would be resilience, adaptability and a willingness to re-skill and retrain. “People need to be agile just like businesses,” she said. |
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JUGGLING MULTIPLE JOBS More than 750,000 Australians had two jobs last year, according to the ABS. Global futurist Chris Riddell said most workers of the future will have a part-time job in a traditional sector plus a start-up or freelancing gig on the side. “Gen Y, Z and Alpha will have multiple careers throughout their lives and have multiple income streams at any individual time,” he said. McCrindle research forecasts the average worker will have five separate careers in their lives, with today’s school leavers to have 17 employers by the time they retire at age 75. Mr Salt said changes to work hours would mean more variety of work not more down time. “You might work 30 hours a week as a journalist, consultant or schoolteacher but with the extra 10 hours a week you would usually work, do you sit at home and watch day time TV or use that free time to pursue other interests that might have commercial benefit?” he said. “The human condition abhors idleness. We are genetically geared to do stuff or we would have died out thousands of years ago.” Brisbane ladies Jenny Usher and Maureen Bowra have already embraced the job juggle. |
Maureen Bowra and Jenny Usher both have multiple jobs. Picture: AAP Image/Claudia Baxter |
Ms Usher spends 17 hours a week in an administrative role with Brisbane Festival in between running her cabaret company Candy Shop Show Australia and mobile corporate pilates company Flair Pilates. “I’m not a one direction kind of person. I like to have a finger in every pie. It keeps me interested in what I do,” she said. “I hope this is the future but it’s not for everyone. Some people like structure but I enjoy the logistical nightmare my life can be. I am never bored.” Miss Bowra spent two years in a nine-to-five IT role before trading it in for multiple part-time and casual gigs. She now teaches musical theatre, is a puppeteer for children’s charity Camp Quality, and works on stage productions. Currently, she is associate director for Grease — The Arena Experience. “Sometimes I see people who are obviously nine-to-fivers on the weekends enjoying breakfast at the local cafe and I get a pang of jealousy because their lives are simple but ... I enjoy being my own boss and getting to choose my hours and what I want to do when,” she said. |
A NEW QUALIFICATION SYSTEM While university degrees will always be valuable, they will not be the only education pathway for many industries. In Silicon Valley, Mr Dawson said reputation already trumped qualification. “We’re going to see new ways to find out how good people are,” he said. “With nano degrees, you do the learning, do the test then show your employer you have good knowledge in a specific area and these are very pragmatic and practical.” |
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