Technology is here to stay. It is changing the very fibre of how we do everyday things. It has brought about convenience and taken efficiency by storm.
This also implies that many of the jobs present today will be made redundant tomorrow. However, this will pave the way for new roles and requirements to emerge in the future. In fact, it is predicted that by 2022, 20% of workers globally will rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to do their jobs.
Does this mean that unemployment will be the norm? Experts say that those who have an open mindset and are willing to experiment with different and evolving roles will thrive in the future. 52% CEOs worldwide are already exploring the benefits of humans and machines working together.
According to the World Economic Forum, the skill set for the workforce of the future is evolving, and in the next five years, with the fourth industrial revolution underway, jobs that don’t currently exist would have emerged. Technology will change the way we work, and people will need to align their skillset to keep pace. 94% of global executives believe automation will increase the demand for human soft skills such as collaboration, creative problem-solving and communications.
This will lead to organisations offering roles with new skill sets—the New Humanities, which is a unique mix of technical and social skill—to cater to the needs of the future. And human and machine collaboration will be key to boosting revenues in the future.
Change is inevitable, and technology will play a major role in defining the jobs of the future.
The future will depend on the ‘New Humanities’—a new set of ‘life skills’ made up of social and professional competencies.
The writer is the chancellor, Ajeenkya DY Patil University and chairman, D Y Patil Group
