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The jobs of today look very different from the jobs our parents had. Whether you work in a cubicle or on a construction site, technology has changed—and is continuing to change—the ways we connect, communicate, and create in our careers. In the past, a college degree was enough to set you up for professional success. Today, employers want job candidates who also have the right skills to succeed.
That’s why Sophia Learning partnered with top employers, business leaders, and recruiters to identify employability skills that are critical to performing your best—not just in one field but across all industries. These are skills that will prepare you for the needs of any future employer and set you up for success in a world that is constantly evolving.
So, what are these skills? Whether you are here for a job, for a promotion, for personal enrichment, or to realize a different dream, these skills can work to help you meet your personal, academic, and professional goals.
| Skill | Description | Why It Matters for the Future of Work |
|---|---|---|
| Self & Social Awareness | Understanding your personal strengths and limitations; recognizing your thoughts, emotions, and intentions; being open to receiving feedback; and identifying how your behaviors impact others. | Self awareness can help you find the right career for you, know when it's time to leave your current job, and make you a stronger leader. (Swerdlow, 5). |
| Technology | Being able to confidently and effectively use technology to be productive, complete goals and tasks, and maintain a competitive advantage. | 78% of today's jobs require familiarity with technology, and digitally intensive jobs are growing faster and pay more than non-digital roles. (Southern New Hampshire University, 6). |
| Productivity | Strategizing, organizing, and effectively managing your time and priorities. | High performers can be up to 800 percent more productive than other workers, drastically cutting down the time and money needed to complete large tasks – something managers always value. (Keller, 7) |
| Initiative | Thinking independently, seeing what needs to be done, and taking action without being prompted. | Initiative has become more important in modern workplaces, as employers rely on people who have the courage to push their teams forward. (Mind Tools, 8) |
| Results Driven | Acting with a sense of urgency and focus to reach goals, without compromising integrity or quality. | As companies use more freelancers, they need those works to be results-driven so projects stay on track. (Do, 9). |
| Communication | Actively seeking and delivering information, clearly articulating ideas, effectively listening, and confidently connecting to various audiences, settings, and situations. | Communication is one of the top five skills that will be important in the future across all industries...and that employers currently find lacking. (Gilchrist, 10). |
| Relationship Building | Effectively working with others and establishing, cultivating, and leveraging networks over time. | 85% of all open job positions are filled through personal connections. (Adler, 11) |
| Problem Solving | Identifying and framing problems, exploring ideas, and creating effective, ethical, and evidence-based solutions. | Problem solving is important in every industry, and this skill gives an especially notable edge in management positions. (CareerBuilder, 12). |
| Innovation | Creatively thinking and coming up with new ideas and solutions to solve old problems. | 84% of business executives believe that innovation is important, but only 6% are satisfied with their company's performance in that area. (McKinsey & Company, 13) |
| Agility | Embracing change and effectively adapting when things around you are constantly in motion. | In one survey, 79% of executives said that the future of work will be based on specific projects instead of roles, meaning that having the agility to adapt quickly will be extremely important. (Lyons, 14) |
What does it mean when we discuss the future of work? It means that we are moving away from a classic employment model in which most careers tended to follow a particular path: After graduation, you got a job in an office where you worked 40 hours a week alongside everyone else at your company. You’d get promoted along a predictable path, before eventually retiring in your 60s.
The future of work is, in fact, not the future. It is happening now. You may remember learning about the industrial revolutions of the past and the ways in which these revolutions transformed the economy and the nature of work. We are now in the fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0. This new world of technology is characterized by:
While artificial intelligence, digital advances, and automation won’t take away the majority of our work, they will change how we work. Even though repetitive and straightforward jobs are at greater risk of being automated, employers will continue to need people with uniquely human skills, such as agility, communication, and productivity.
As people become more and more connected, workplaces are expanding globally, with teams working in different parts of the world. Instead of staying at one company or even working in one field, people are more willing to change gears and enter entirely different professions. The promise of working in any industry from anywhere in the world can be incredibly exciting.
Many jobs are also changing with an increase in freelance work, remote work, and the gig economy. A gig economy is a growing employment model where short-term, independent workers contract with companies instead of becoming direct employees of the company. This model allows companies to scale their workforce more fluidly to accommodate fluctuations in company earnings or a change in the company’s strategic vision. Freelancers in a gig economy tend to have more flexible work hours than their direct-hire counterparts.
Societies are constantly changing and every society undergoes an event or scenario that requires people to quickly adapt to new circumstances. For example, the Great Depression, World War II, 9-11, and the Stock Market Crash of 2008 are all events that required important shifts in American life. This includes the employment sector where some types of jobs were eliminated and others, out of necessity, were created.
IN CONTEXT
WWII. Between 1940 and 1945, five million women entered the American workforce, displacing many men who went off to fight in World War II (Khan Academy 2020). Women worked in factories, defense plants, and offices in unprecedented numbers. Women temporarily shifted the dynamics of the American workforce, but more importantly, they paved the way for generations of successful working women, post-war through today.
9-11. The attacks of 9-11 caused changes to air travel, influencing how we live and work. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) implemented tighter security measures at airports and hired more workers to thwart the possibility of another attack. The TSA now requires most travelers to remove their shoes for inspection and limits the amount of carry-on liquids to 3.4 ounces before boarding a plane.
COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic is another scenario that has altered the employment landscape in the United States for the foreseeable future. In January 2020, the U.S. reported its first known case of COVID-19, a novel infectious disease caused by a virus called the coronavirus. In the absence of a vaccine, some businesses were forced to close their doors to keep employees and clients safe. Others had to shift to alternative work environments, allowing many or all of their employees to work from home. Essential businesses, such as grocery stores and gas stations, implemented extra measures to keep people safe. They built plexiglass barriers to maintain separation, mandated facemasks, and established social-distancing requirements.
For many professional and skilled trade workers, employment opportunities during major life events can hang in the balance. Workers must tap into their agility skills to seek out or create new careers, different ways of working, and alternative work environments. Now, more than ever, learning and practicing employability skills is vital for producing positive outcomes at home and work when unexpected life events occur.
Considering the times we’re in, a traditional undergraduate program is no longer enough to prepare you for your future of work. That’s why this course teaches the essential skills that will be useful right now and will prepare you for the changes that are sure to keep coming as the fourth Industrial Revolution continues. The jobs of the future—like the jobs of today—will depend on transferable skills that cannot be replaced by robots, artificial learning, or algorithms. These skills will help you perform your best in school, get hired and promoted, and future-proof your career so you can get where you want to go.
Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.
REFERENCES
CNBC International. (2019). “CNBC Explains: What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?” Video. Retrieved November 30, 2020. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9rZOa3CUC8
Khan Academy. (2020). "American Women and World War II." Retrieved December 8, 2020. www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/rise-to-world-power/us-wwii/a/american-women-and-world-war-ii
Press, Gil. (2019, October 30). “2020 predictions about automation and the future of work from Forrester,” Forbes.
www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2019/10/30/2020-predictions-about-automation-and-the-future-of-work-from-forrester/?sh=73ebec131318
