30 Jan Future-ready? What career counsellors worry about

What are career counsellors concerned about when working with their clients, and the Future of Work?

List of some Future-ready concerns:

• That the future is already our present
• That there is a skill mis-match
• That there is a current and growing skill shortage
• That our expectations clearly do not match the reality available
• That business would rather hire tech-ready positions than re-train loyal employees
• That we need to learn new ways of exploring career choices
• That VR may be a way to retool quickly
• That higher education in its current form may not be able to deliver skill-ready staff at the pace of technology deployment
• That for the immediate future we have an imperative to put people first, as we work on the ethical deployment of AI and robotics
• That lifelong learning is essential
• That we need to show that time spent when not in paid employment is valuable – whether it is used for personal growth, social service, or picking that next assignment
• That while 50% of the jobs we know today will not be around for the Class of 2030 (born 2012), neither were many of the jobs we know today around 10 years ago!
• That there will be many new types of jobs and missions opening over the next few years. Technologies such as Hyperloop, block chain, Mars mission will create new opportunities
• That there are some mega trends that we need to work on urgently – climate change, movement of people, digitalization
• That we need to support job seekers of all ages, but particularly our youth, with skills that demonstrate resilience, deepening risk-tolerance and recovery

What now GenZ and influencers?

How do you use this information?

• Look for solutions beyond your 2 year horizon.
• Search for the big missions that need solutions.
• Ask questions. Then ask some more questions.

And then have the courage to take one small step. Reach out to one person and start this conversation. Leave a comment; pick up the phone; meet your career counsellor; text me. Get in action.

Credit & Thanks; Definitions & Resources:

• Inspiration: Cannexus19 – a 3 day conference held in Ottawa for Career Development & Guidance professionals. Attendees from as far away as Australia and UAE joined a blend of education, employer and government professionals serving universities, colleges, First Nations, and private individuals of all ages.
• Photo credit: Fred Cattroll, Cattroll Photo Associates, Event: Cannexus 19.
• GenZ, Gen Z, Generation Z – if you were born in 1995 or after. You are usually a digital native, having no memory of a world without the internet!
• Also published on LinkedIn
• That a few big imperatives are clearly facing our society today. Mega trends – climate change, movement of people, digitalization – are increasingly inter-connected and impact our economy and politics. (UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at Davos 2019) We need people to work on these, however fragmented the response, so that we can make some small but steady progress, in the hope that it would accumulate.