Keeping your skills and licenses up to date, adhering to new processes and adapting to new skills are obvious requirements for you to continue to be employable. However, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report, the predictions for the top skills of 2025 are quite surprising – and none of them have anything to do with which tools to use! So here we take a look at four skills you will need to continue to be employable in the future.
1. Think Critically
Critical thinking and analysis is one of the most important skills of the future. The critical analysis involves breaking down information you may read, write, or see and consider what the information is telling you from different perspectives.
Imagine a job was behind schedule, and you were asked to develop ways to get the job back on track. Those with critical thinking and analytical skills may question whether it is a people issue, process issue or tools issue first. Based on these answers, they would solve the issues to get the job back on track. On the other hand, someone without those skills may simply advise the company they must pay overtime or insist the team just works harder.
Critical thinking can be learned. According to the Harvard Business Review, those who can cultivate the habit of questioning the assumptions, reasoning through logic and expanding their thoughts and ideas can become masters of critical thinking and analysis.
2. Learn on The Job
Active learning and learning strategies are essential to remaining employable since job training manuals are outdated in an instant with the constant pace of change. In addition, 94% of employers expect employees to pick up skills on the job, up from 65% in 2018, making those who have a learning mindset and high levels of curiosity more likely to be employable in the future.
Learning opportunities are available when we read the news, subscribe to industry emails, watch YouTube videos, collaborate with colleagues, talk to suppliers, work closely with our bosses and watch others on the job. Those with a learning mindset will often use online resources to get more information when something new captures their interest or will seek out an online course.
3. Solve Problems
Has your boss ever said, "come to me with a solution, not the problem"? That's because those who notice a problem usually have the best understanding of the issue - which means they have more information at their fingertips to analyse and devise a solution.
With new ideas, new technologies, new products, and new services come new sets of problems. As a result, one of the most important skills for the future will be solving complex problems and adapting.
Fortunately, there are many techniques you can easily learn and start putting into practice today if you would like to build your problem-solving skills.
4. Be Resilient
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from challenges and is considered an essential skill for the future. In a workplace setting, it can be everything from managing a heavy workload, managing a failed project, dealing with difficult colleagues and bosses.
Resilient employees are team players; they manage stress effectively, cope well with change, remain true to their values, practice what they preach and tend to experience higher levels of health and wellbeing – it is no wonder resilience is seen as an essential skill to continue to be employable.
According to research, it can be strengthened even if you are born with less resilience than others. Those who can take a positive stand at work, strengthen emotional insight, practise healthy work-life balance, experience a sense of purpose and become more reflective are likely to build higher levels of resilience.
If you are open to new opportunities, contact a recruitment agency like Trojan Recruitment Group and receive advice from the experts in labour-hire, permanent and contract staff.
References
https://hbr.org/2019/05/3-simple-habits-to-improve-your-critical-thinking
https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf
