Getting Ready…
When previous generations thought about entering into the world of work, they would usually consider manual roles which required skills and experience to perfect. This includes trades and skilled manual workers too.
However, for our current young generation, those who are finishing up in school, college and university, things look very different.
The world of work has changed considerably and many jobs and tasks that a person used to do, is now fully automated. More than 6 million people who currently work fear that their jobs could be replaced by machines in the next 10 year, which doesn’t bode well for those who are just entering work. In fact, a third of graduates at the moment find they are mismatched to the jobs that they end up taking.
Is it as bad as it seems?
Whilst the idea that lots of jobs are automated may seem negative, especially when you take into account the statistics above. The truth is that automated jobs do not take away roles from people, they simply mean that the jobs people do take are different, and that in order to enter the world of work properly, there needs to be more done to prepare people for how it will be.
Getting ready for the future of work
With this in mind, it has never been more vital for universities (in particular) to really focus on ways that they can help those who are just about to graduate, to prepare themselves for entering the workplace. Of course, graduates are going to want to make sure that they have the educational qualifications that are important for their chosen career, but with the job market changing so much at the moment, it makes sense that universities should be focusing on skills and attributes that are going to help those who graduate enter into work prepared.
What are the skills that should be focused on?
So, what skills should universities be looking at when they are focusing on preparing graduates for work? Of course, this will really depend on the type of role that they are hoping to work in. However, there are some basics that every person should have before they start to work.
Creativity seems to be a huge consideration and whilst STEM subjects are focused on, this should never be at the detriment of creativity and art too. Not only should a creative approach to working be taken but another important skill is teamwork too, after all, there is a good chance that everyone will need to work as a team, no matter their role.
It is no secret that teaching workplace skills isn’t always the easiest of things to do. One of the best ways is to actually get a graduate working. This could be in the form of work placements, which they can do alongside their studies, preparing them for work and also improving some of the skills that are going to prove incredibly valuable when they do enter the working world.
Getting ready for work is never easy when you have never worked before, however, there are things that businesses and universities can do to help prepare the next working generation to get ahead in their careers, right from the first moment they enter into the environment.