For many young people, going online is an integral part of their daily life. They engage in entertainment, social interaction and communication, education and research, knowledge gathering and exposure to new life experiences.

Globalisation of the workforce, the use of digital platforms to manage micro-jobs and flexible work options, adoption of technology-smart machines and automation across multiple industries, are transforming the world of work. Future jobs, whether cognitive or manual, will require a different skill set.

Wall and Bonanno (2014) and the Foundation of Young Australians (2015) identify future work/enterprise skills:

  • Leadership
  • Critical thinking
  • Creativity
  • Agility
  • Digital literacy
  • Communication
  • Problem solving
  • Global citizenship
  • Design thinking
  • Collaboration
  • Interpersonal relationships/social intelligence

In January 2016, the World Economic Forum published its report – The Future of Jobs. They predict the Fourth Industrial Revolution will cause major disruption to the workforce.

The key skills (and skill bundles) for 2020 identified in the report are as follows:

  • Problem sensitivity (Cognitive abilities)
  • Active learning (Content skills)
  • Critical thinking (Process skills)
  • Management of financial resources (Resource management skills)
  • Persuasion (Social skills)

The always-connected generation engage in learning in and out of school. Learning is no longer limited to the school day and now extends beyond the traditional school hours. This is an opportunity to bring together curriculum, general capabilities and the development of future work/enterprise skills. These skills need to begin early and build sequentially and consistently throughout primary and high school years.

References:
Foundation of Young Australians (FYA) 2015, The new work order: ensuring young Australians have skills and experience for the jobs of the future, not the past, Melbourne. http://www.fya.org.au/2015/08/23/the-new-work-order-report/ accessed 30 August 2015.

Wall, J & Bonanno, K 2014, ‘Learning and literacy for the future’ in SCAN, Vol. 33, Issue 3, pp. 20 – 28, NSW Department of Education, Sydney. Accessed 1 May 2021.

World Economic Forum 2016, ‘The future of jobs’. http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016/ accessed 9 February 2016.