The Jobs Of The Future

The World Economic Forum’s study predicts that 5 million jobs will be gone by 2020 due to the emergence of artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology and other socio-economic factors replacing the need for human workers. 

However, the good news is that the same technological advances will also create 2.1 million new jobs. While each industry will demand new skills as their fields expand, a common trend is that employees of the future will be required to have a wide array of skills. That means, gone are the days where people work in silos as a single discipline. It will be very likely a convergence of different skill sets and disciplines - for example, arts and sciences, or entrepreneurship and sciences.

Based on the list of jobs identified by CST's Careers 2030 project, the future will require familiarity with a wide array of disciplines in order to provide solutions to issues that never seen before by a generation ago. Today, we are seeing challenges such as climate change, growing population and complex social issues. The increasing needs to counter these complex problems will be very much dependent on the connections between various disciplines. The jobs of the future will require an understanding of science, technology, finance, design, arts, behavioural studies along with possessing other skills such as writing and public speaking abilities and creative problem solving.

Emerging industries that we are seeing today such as virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) is shifting from a technology to a medium. Hence, not only that this industry needs engineers to work on the technology, there is also a growing need for immersive storytellers, artists, experience designers and architects. 

In preparation for career opportunities that lie ahead in the not-so-distant future, the younger generation needs to look at diversifying their learning experience as much as possible. Learning should not be restricted to just in the classroom. Students should be given the opportunity to focus on a broad base education and take advantage of experiential learning through volunteering, participating in field trips and student exchange programs to supplement their classroom experience. 

Shared by Foo Huey Chyun
Guest Blogger