Critical skills to develop for the future

Is an Engineering or Technical degree all that you need to secure a professional future? Is a PMP a guarantee of future project success? Or are there more “subtle” elements or skills required to future job security and success?

Increasingly important skills

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 “Future of Jobs Report”, you not only need a technical tertiary education, but also a handful of increasingly important skills:

1. Analytical Thinking and Innovation
2. Active learning
3. Complex Problem solving
4. Critical thinking and analysis
5. Creativity, originality, and initiative
6. Leadership and Social Influence
7. Technology use and -design
8. Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility
9. Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation
10. Emotional Intelligence

Enter ‘VUCA’

These skills will become increasingly important as the 4^th Industrial Revolution picks up speed and we find ourselves in more Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (‘VUCA’) times. If there is one lesson that 2020 taught all of us, it is to be tech savvy, adaptable and be able to cope with significant disruption. Mastering these and the above skills is however not that easy! To determine if you are exercising your VUCA muscles, or in a comfort zone, ask yourself the following questions:

1. When last did I face a problem to which I did not even know where to begin the solution?
2. When last was I forced to read through a text / book / guide to learn something new?
3. How frequently do I find myself in new / foreign / unknown places or conversations?
4. Am I often confronted with situations to which there is not a clear, definitive answer?
5. How often am I required to think absolutely new or creative?
6. Am I frequently in the presence / social circles / conversation of industry- or thought leaders?
7. When last did I navigate a high stake / high stress / high tension discussion?

Being in a safe, predictable workplace is not wrong, but are you ready when your “cheese gets moved”? Take a critical look at yourself and determine if you are safe, scared or prepared for the future!

Visit our website for more information on the skills courses we offer.