Securing the future: Continuous learning
Nouhad Dammous, editor-in-chief of Hospitality News Middle East, delves into the heart of continuous learning.
The accelerating changes that technology, globalization and innovation are having on work nowadays have led to a labor market where some employees are struggling to cope with the pace of transformations or have failed to develop the skills that are required by their employers.
These rapid transformations have created new job roles that didn't exist before, such as social media managers, data analysts, machinery learning experts and so on.
Consequently, projections for the future of work have concluded that in the years to come, a huge percentage of work activities could be automated. Work skills among different industries will change.
In order to survive the changes and the demands of tomorrow, preparations for the future of work should start today. First, schools should start working on integrating soft skills into their educational curricula, such as goal setting, time management, communication, negotiation and conflict management.
In addition to these lifelong learning skills, educators should start looking at what is booming and equip their students with the necessary skills. For instance, entrepreneurship is a trendy subject nowadays, but it is uncommon for students to learn anything about it until they reach university and major in subjects like business or management. Adult education and training should act faster to narrow the gap between employers' needs and employees’ skills.
Most importantly, employees should accept that in this continuously changing world, they should be lifetime learners. Employees should learn how to adapt to the transformations happening around them and be open to widening their knowledge base.