Preparing the Next Generation
your newly redefined job this is not much of a consolation. So, what can we do? When it comes to the current workforce, the experts believe we will have to diversify our talents. That means not working one job for one company, but having the flexibility to work multiple jobs at once. And, when it comes to our youth, the experts say the way to keep up is to get students into machine learning, data science, math and cultivate higher thinking. If we can align courses that schools are offering to what the industry – and ultimately the world – is looking for, we’ll be on the right track to educating the 21st century workforce. But companies must also do their part. Retraining and equipping Americans from all backgrounds with the skills necessary to pursue a technology career of the future is key. We’ve all seen technology change our lives. While it’s easy to get immersed in the calamitous predictions of the future, remember, humans are the only creatures that can be human. Jobs that require true creativity, engaging people in relationships and dealing with unpredictable emergency situations won’t be as affected by the robots – at least for now.
The fact is, many students are currently studying disciplines that can be replaced. And, while technology is replacing many jobs, it is not necessarily creating new ones. Only five percent of the jobs created in the last 10 years came from the technology sector, and nine out of 10 workers are in jobs today that existed 100 years ago. Today, IT services and custom software development rank the highest in terms of adding new jobs and employing more people. But, tomorrow we may laugh at how much coding we used to do. Instead, software developers will only be needed for high-level jobs. Tasks like designing email templates and simpler software development tasks will be automated and outdated. The idea that humans will be reserved for the higher-thinking jobs is interesting. It sheds some light on a topic that is often relegated to the doom-and-gloom category. It means that automation and AI are not synonymous with job loss and not all jobs will disappear. The reality is that many of them will be redefined. Of course, if you don’t have the skills to perform in
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SPRING 2018 | CompTIAWorld
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