With all of this rapid change, though, it would seem that one factor which continues to fail employers in a big way is the education of our children.
Our recent article noted that the UK is failing to get its workforce ready for the changes that automation and AI will bring. What this suggests is that those individuals who are in jobs that could be affected need to be given the chance to adapt and find themselves equipped with more diverse skillsets that allow them not just to work in their current roles.
This also applies to those entering the job market post-education. Perhaps it is even possible that these skills will need to be so adaptable that they ignore the jobs of today and will instead be intended to try and future-proof people's careers by creating graduates and school leavers who have a broad range of skills that can be as transferable as possible in the world of work, something that all recruiters would be pleased to see.
Casinos: A lesson on moving with the times
Should you want to look at an industry where changes in technology are creating huge change and rendering knowledge less important but skills vital, then take a look at the casino industry. In the past, the biggest and most esteemed casino locations were the likes of Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, and even Macau, yet as we head towards the 2020s, we see more and more people gambling and 'visiting' casinos online, with thousands of casino sites available online in Canada alone.
This means that those who had the knowledge of, for instance, how to run a roulette table might now be out of a job. However, those who had been taught the skills that sit behind making any gambling experience a rich one for consumers will be at an advantage, possibly in an updated role in an online casino.
"Online-Pokern" by Marco Verch (CC BY 2.0)
The misconception of automation and AI is that it is purely a job destroyer. This myth has been exposed by the creation of new jobs associated with digital casinos, like PayPal casinos, as well as by software companies like NetEnt, and of course the casino websites themselves, all of which have created a new and different range of opportunities for those with transferable skill sets.
A failure to adapt
This example shows that there is clearly a changing market with a need for changeable skillsets rather than the simple ability to absorb a narrow set of knowledge, the likes of which we get so often at schools. For instance, knowing that Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the USA and that 8 multiplied by 8 is 64 seems out of date compared to the diverse needs of the current employment landscape.
Indeed, if we look back to our UK example, the government still seems intent on ignoring the need for skills over knowledge compared to other countries like Finland, which are moving towards a far more skills-based approach.
Today we celebrate equality in Finland. Also, offering the equal & free learning possibilities for all the children is one of the key cornerstones of Finnish education system. We invite you to learn more: https://t.co/bF52tLYyv6 #eduparkfi #Finnisheducation #equality pic.twitter.com/3eIH3CbD3H
— Eduparkfinland (@eduparkfi) March 19, 2018
It is indeed this acknowledgement of the importance of the overall growth of a person who can be resilient and boast transferable skills that has seen the dramatic shifts in Finnish education that have seen the possibility of lessons not being taught by subjects but by skills. This shift could help the jobs market elsewhere in the world, with recruiters able to hire new staff with transferable skills rather than those who can name isolated facts without being able to actually analyze them.
