Future Work Skills Ready

We are five years from the future as forecast by the Future Work Skills 2020 report. For businesses, the key takeaway from the report is that (Human Resource) professionals must “adapt their workforce planning and development strategies to ensure alignment with future skill requirements”—and collaborate with universities to do so. This article summarizes the report so that you are one step closer to preparing today for tomorrow’s workplace.

The Source

Authored by the California-based Institute for the Future, the Future Work Skills 2020 report is an analysis of significant patterns of change that are anticipated to reshape “how we think about work, what constitutes work, and the skills we need to be productive contributors in the future.” While not explicitly stated, the report seems to be written about, and for the benefit of, a U.S. audience. Even with its geographic focus, the report lends notable insights for patterns and skill sets that, if accurate, will likely affect the globe. The Institute for the Future is an independent, nonprofit research group with 40+ years of forecasting experience and a goal of “identifying emerging trends and discontinuities that will transform global society and the global marketplace.” The Apollo Research Institute has sponsored this particular report with the intention of increasing “understanding of the skills workers will need over the next decade in a technologically advanced and changing world.”

Key Terms

The Future Work Skills 2020 report is essentially organized into two halves that present six “drivers of change” and 10 corresponding „skills for the global workplace“. Drivers are defined as “big, disruptive shifts that are likely to reshape future landscapes.” They are indicated by signals, which the authors describe as “something that catches our attention at one scale and in one locale and points to larger implications for other locales or even globally.” Examples include new and local innovations (e.g., products, practices, etc.) or disruptions that have the potential to grow in scale and geographic scope.

The Content

Six “drivers of change” and ten „future workforce skills“ are outlined in the Future Work Skills 2020 report. Below, drivers of change are matched with their definitions, followed by a summary of key points for each driver as noted in the report. For more context, click here to download the full English-language report, or here for report details on the Institute for the Future website.

1. Globally connected world

• Organizations from resource and infrastructure-constrained markets in developing countries like India and China are innovating at a faster pace than those from developed countries in some areas, such as mobile technologies. The model, however, has stayed the same: innovation and design have been the prerogative of Research & Development labs in developed countries. As markets in China, India, and other developing countries grow, it is increasingly difficult for the headquarters to develop products that can suit the needs of a whole different category of consumers.

• The key is not just to employ people in locales where new competitors are popping up, but also to effectively integrate local employees and local business processes into the infrastructure of global organizations in order to remain competitive.

2. Rise of Smart machines & systems

• The increasing presence of—and our relationship with—Smart machines will force us to confront important questions: What are humans uniquely good at? What is our comparative advantage?

3. Superstructured[i] organizations

• New technologies and social media and education platforms are driving an unprecedented reorganization of how we produce and create value, making content available to anyone. We can do things outside of traditional organizational boundaries. (For related ideas, see also intercultures‘ July 2015 article, Imagination is the New Black.)

4. Computational world

• Our work and personal lives will increasingly demand abilities to interact with data, see patterns in data, make data-based decisions and use data to design for desired outcomes.

• Thus we will usher in an era of  “everything is programmable”—an era of thinking about the world in computational, programmable, designable terms.

5. Extreme longevity

• By 2025, it’s estimated that the number of U.S. Americans over 60 years of age will increase by 70%.

• Individuals will need to rearrange their approach to their careers, family life, and education to accommodate this demographic shift. (For related news, see also intercultures‘ July 2015 article, Home, Sweet Home Office.)

• To take advantage of this well-experienced and still vital workforce, organizations will have to rethink the traditional career paths in organizations, creating more diversity and flexibility.

6. New media ecology

• Millions of users generating and viewing multimedia content (e.g., video, animation, and other visual communication media) from their laptops and mobile devices are exerting enormous influence on culture.

In addition to the six drivers of change summarized above, ten “skills for the future workforce” are outlined in the Future Work Skills 2020 report. Left and below, skills for the future workforce are matched with their definitions.

intercultures’ Critical Questions

In response to the Future Work Skills 2020 report, we have  a few questions for your consideration:

• We agree with the statement in the report that, „Presence in areas where new competitors are popping up is critical to survival, but it is not enough.“ How can local employees and local business processes be integrated into the infrastructure of global organizations in order to increase their competitiveness?

• Given the technology gap between the general developed and developing populations, how can developed countries sustain their relevance in innovation and design to their developing neighbors?

• According to the report, the “real power in robotics technologies lies in their ability to augment and extend our own capabilities.” How can Smart Computers extend the value of our diverse work styles?

• The report states that, “The millions of users generating and viewing multimedia content…are exerting enormous influence on culture.” What are the consequences of a continued imbalance in influence made in our global world?

Connect with intercultures as a thought partner in your process of becoming future work skills ready. Allow us to offer expert guidance as you match drivers of change and future workforce skills with your specific organizational context.

[i] To “superstruct” means to create structures that go beyond the basic forms and processes with which we are familiar.

The above article was included in our Sept. 2015 intercultures e-newsletter.

Picture Credit Title Picture „Cover of the Future Work Skills 2020 report“: Institute for the Future for the University of Phoenix Research Institute