3 Skills Every Employee Needs for the Workplace of the Future

3 Skills Every Employee Needs for the Workplace of the Future

The problems of the future of work date back to the last century. The modern corporation, born in the 1940s and 1950s, was built on former General Motors chairman Alfred E. Sloan's belief that a big company's most powerful enemy was internal: complacency over market leadership, lax management controls, and inadequate oversight by boards and shareholders , These problems would ruin a company if it were allowed to fester.
Sloan did not think that the mightiest enemy of a big company could come from a small external enemy. Kodak, the erstwhile colossus that produced photo film, is outdated in a few years. Sloan also overlooked the fact that the Internet could possibly supplant the marketing and distribution networks of a large company like Kodak. Who needs to build a business or network of businesses when the Internet can market your product at virtually no cost?
Businesses today must be aware that disruptions are a constant, and that no company is truly unassailable regardless of their actual situation.

 

1. Advanced technical skills

Advances in robotics and 3D printing are increasingly disrupting the manufacturing industry and replacing unskilled workers. According to the Future of Jobs report from the World Economic Forum, robots with improved senses, dexterity, and intelligence in manufacturing and service work such as cleaning and maintenance will be more practical than human labor.

On the other hand, these disruptions will instead drive employment growth in architecture and engineering as the need for qualified technicians becomes critical. Routine work will slowly be forgotten when the machines take over these tasks. This allows employees to focus on new tasks that lead to rapidly changing core competencies. This can be beneficial for workers if they choose to learn new skills. 

To ensure that the workforce is fit for the future, the Singapore government has launched initiatives such as SkillsFuture to give Singaporeans the opportunity to improve their skills. SkillsFuture offers programs that employees can use in data analytics, tech-savvy services, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and more. Courses, ranging from malware analysis to 3D manufacturing techniques to systems engineering, are conducted in collaboration with institutions such as Nanyang Polytechnic and Singapore Management University.
In less than five years, jobs of the future will require a talent pool of highly skilled individuals who can easily adapt to new technologies. SGInnovate contributes by working with universities and colleges to build talent and connect it with in-depth tech start-ups. SGInnovate also supports the start-up community with lectures and events covering topics such as AI, big data and aerospace technologies.

2. Creativity

McKinsey's findings show that the most difficult activities to be automated with current technologies are creative work and tasks that include people's management and development, decision-making, and planning.
MeshMinds' Founder and "Chief Connecting Officer, Kay Vasey, believes Creavity to be an ability that workers of the future must have because robots can not easily own them.
"Creativity is important in the innovation process to ensure that the design of each new prototype, process or machine is human-centric, and without creative thinking, the process of driving old and new technologies can only be linear," says Vasey.
At MeshMinds, human creativity and technology go hand in hand. MeshMinds sees AR / VR technology as a tool to create opportunities for Asian artists to create experimental, immersive and interactive works of art. To this end, MeshMind's artist trains how to create art with AR / VR technology.

 

 For example, MeshMinds is working with a VR start-up to create a multi-sensory experience, Oceans We Make, which draws attention to the amount of pollutants in the ocean.

Workers today should play an active role in understanding how technology and collaboration with others can improve their performance. "That's why at MeshMinds we connect artists and technologists in the real world, but we also use technology to create a virtual marketplace where they can find, collaborate and share their amazing projects and prototypes with the world," she says ,

3. Complex problem solving skills

There is no denying that with advances in AI, robotics and machine learning, people will increasingly work alongside machines. While it is true that machines can handle large amounts of data with greater accuracy, these well-defined activities still require that people determine the right goals and interpret the implications of the results in real-world situations. Therefore, the ability to think critically is an appropriate skill that one must possess.
In fact, the problem-solving ability tops the list of the ten skills needed to grow in 2020, according to the report on the future of jobs. The WEF defines complex problem solutions as "developed capabilities to solve novel, poorly defined problems in complex, real-world environments". Therefore, youth needs to refine their analytical skills to serve as the basis for complex problem solving.
Saturday Kids seeks to nurture growth in children by teaching them how to analyze and solve problems like a programmer.

 Inspired by Singapore's aspiration to become a Smart Nation, 19 secondary schools began offering programs as part of a new O-level subject called computing. The Straits Times reports that the new topic is focused on programming, algorithm, data management and computer architecture. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for children to be taught programming at a young age as part of the Smart Nation initiative.
There is no stopping technology that disturbs the way we live and work. As for the disruption, SGInnovate is only too familiar with the space, as it is also an active investor in Deep Tech, with portfolio companies ranging from AI to robotics, AR / VR technology, blockchain and medical technology. It acts as a growth catalyst for an ecosystem that challenges the convention and dares to explore the possibilities of technology.
Instead of fearing replacements, the workers of the future must harness the power of technology and improve their abilities. First, visit the SGInnovate page to learn more about how deep technologies affect the way we live and work.