Future of Work: What Skills Will Help Us Keep Pace? From Elon Musk’s tweet that artificial intelligence may be more dangerous than nuclear weapons to the growing clamor of voices warning robots will take away our jobs, it is clear we are focusing more on the problems of AI, robotics, and automation than the solutions. While the problems are real and should be taken into account, social innovators around the world are already working to deliver solutions. It’s true that today’s technology is reworking the economy and our role in it. This is nothing new. During the Industrial Revolution, in the US, we demanded every child attend school and learn reading, writing and math. Throughout the 20th century, humanity poured tremendous resources into ensuring every human develop these skills as technologies advanced. Most of us have heard of STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, and math), but there is another lesser known skillset that will also be critical. Hierarchical systems of authority are increasingly struggling to keep up.
The death of the exam: Canada is at the leading edge of killing the dreaded annual ‘final’ for good Exam season — that annual academic ritual of last-ditch, high-stress cramming — is upon the students of Canada. But as two major universities, York and Toronto, head into finals after prolonged teacher strikes, some students are fretting about a different sort of stress: The possible cancellation of this year’s big tests. That would mean no risk of choking on exam day, but also no chance to bump up final grades. Either way, it would put any students spared final tests at the leading edge of a movement on campuses, at high schools, even elementary schools — the decline of the exam. For all the energy and attention they demand, educators are pushing to marginalize exams. “We are in the midst of an educational revolution,” says Stuart Shanker, distinguished research professor of philosophy and psychology at York University and a leading figure in educational reform. Greg Southam/Edmonton JournalStudents write exams in the Butterdome at the University of Alberta on December 9, 2014.
10 well paid jobs of the future Mr Bellini posited the idea of an elderly well-being consultant, who specialises in personalised care for older patients, or a memory augmentation surgeon who helps counter memory loss. He also saw big changes in farming as food resources became scarce, with genetically modified crops becoming common and crops grown vertically in areas resembling multi-storey car parks to save space. Ian Pearson, a futurologist who wrote You Tomorrow, sees job growth in the field of augmented reality, where the real world is overlaid with computer-generated images. “When you look at a building it’s constrained by planning laws, but in cyberspace you can make it look however you want,” he said. “A company with a high street presence could make their shop look like Downton Abbey, or set it in a post-nuclear apocalypse environment.” Mr Pearson also argued that the better technology gets, the more people will have to focus on their “human skills” to survive in the workforce. Best paid jobs of today
The Future of Work: Quantified Employees, Pop-Up Workplaces, And More Telepresence For many people, especially those working at desk jobs, the workplace is very different than it was 20 years ago: there’s a computer at every desk, telecommuting is fairly common, and the traditional cubicle is giving way to more collaborative spaces. We’ve seen predictions about where we’ll go from here before; now PSFK, a popular blog that also happens to be a thriving consultancy, has come up with its own version of the future of work, described in a new 138-page report. It’s not as fantastical as many future-forward reports--it’s planted firmly in ideas that are already gaining a lot of traction. Here are our takeaways. Startup Training and Skills Marketplaces PSFK imagines that learning initiatives for young entrepreneurs, such as Enstitute, will become the norm. Office Feedback Culture You know the employee that keeps screwing up and eventually just gets fired without really understanding why? Quantified Workers Admit it: you secretly like watching your Klout score rise.
Stories of Afghan girls whose lives have been turned around by education revealed In the western world, we take education for granted and often disgruntled children bemoan the fact they they have to attend class and complete homework. But in may other parts of the world girls have to fight for the right to go to school. A new series of portraits of female pupils at two schools in Afghanistan has highlighted the battle that young girls face to be given the right to learn basic skills like reading, writing and arithmetic, and the power that has to transform their lives. Scroll down for video A series of portraits of Afghan school girls show the growing desire in the country for young women to be educated (Left: Zeinab, 12, Centre: Nadira, 10, and right: Gulmakai, 14) Photographer Simon Urwin interviewed young girls and their mothers at a school in Kabul, which teaches equality, tolerance, and human rights, including women's issues, alongside traditional academic subjects like maths and science. Fawzia, 10 years old Fawzia, aged 10 'Literacy and education is as light. Maida:
Garbage designer, robot counsellor among the predicted jobs of 2030 About 15 years from now, farmers will have made their way from the countryside to the city, counsellors will help ensure the right robot goes to the right family and garbage designers will lead the upcycling movement. Those are some predictions made by the Canadian Scholarship Trust Plan’s Inspired Minds initiative, which aims to give Canadians a sneak peek of the job market in 2030. Some of the more curious careers include: Nostalgist: A mix between a therapist, an interior designer and a historical researcher, a nostalgist will help the wealthy elderly of 2030 create a living space inspired by their favourite decade. Rewilder: The old name for this job was "farmer." But instead of growing crops, rewilders will be tasked with undoing environmental damage to the countryside. Farming will continue to take place, but in greenhouses located on skyscrapers, which will be known as vertical farms. Robot counsellor: In 2030, robots will play a big part in our day-to-day lives.
The 10 Most Important Work Skills in 2020 Share this infographic on your site! <a href=" src=" alt="Important Work Skills for 2020" width="500" border="0" /></a><br />Source: <a href=" The 10 Most Important Work Skills in 2020 Future Work Skills of 2020: Sources: Finland: A Society of Trust. | Filling My Map Imagine a world where you simply expect everyone to follow the rules and do the right thing. This is a world where mothers leave sleeping infants in their strollers outside of little shops while they run in for a quick purchase. This is a society where all school doors are left unlocked and public transportation basically operates on an honor system. It is simply assumed that you have already paid to ride the bus or tram. Here you can see children as young as 7 or 8 years old calmly riding the public bus/tram to get themselves to and from school or walking/ skipping down the street alone. Parents simply expect their kids to make the right decisions and also trust society to be looking out for their child while they are in public alone. I find this faith in society absolutely refreshing. I asked someone about this phenomena where the Finns ALWAYS wait for the green light. The trust found in society is especially apparent to me when I observe Finnish schools. Like this: Like Loading...
Six Soft Skills Everyone Needs | Monster.com By Larry Buhl, for Yahoo! HotJobs In a 2008 survey of more than 2,000 businesses in the state of Washington, employers said entry-level workers in a variety of professions were lacking in several areas, including problem solving, conflict resolution and critical observation. You'll likely see these "soft skills" popping up in job descriptions, next to demands for technical qualifications. Communication SkillsThis doesn't mean you have to be a brilliant orator or writer. Teamwork and CollaborationEmployers want employees who play well with others -- who can effectively work as part of a team. AdaptabilityThis is especially important for more-seasoned professionals to demonstrate, to counter the (often erroneous) opinion that older workers are too set in their ways. Problem SolvingBe prepared for the "how did you solve a problem?" Critical ObservationIt's not enough to be able to collect data and manipulate it. To demonstrate communication skills, for example, start with the obvious.
If Schools Don't Change, Robots Will Bring On a 'Permanent Underclass': Report Robots are taking all the jobs. But are we, the average, moderately skilled humans, screwed, or aren't we? Let me just get it out of the way now: We are, unless there are drastic, immediate changes to education and economic systems around the world. The dominant narrative going around today about Pew Research's new report on artificial intelligence and the future of jobs is that experts can't really decide whether automation is going to make working obsolete, that it's really a toss up whether robots will simply create new jobs in other sectors as they destroy ones in other. That's true, in one sense: The 1,896 futurists, CEOs, journalists, and university professors questioned for the report were split in half over robots will "displace significant numbers of both blue- and white-collar workers," with 52 percent of respondents agreeing that "human ingenuity will create new jobs, industries, and ways to make a living, just as it has been doing since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution."