The 4th Industrial Revolution
By Deb Walker
Training and elevating the skills of employees has always been critical and will become an even stronger driver in recruitment and retention strategies as we continue into what is being referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third (the digital revolution) and is characterized by “…a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres.”1 To date, the fourth industrial revolution has resulted in developments in genetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, transportation, service delivery, 3D printing and biotechnology, to name a few.
Life in the world today is multi-faceted and things never occur in isolation, where you can deal with them one at a time. We are living through an amazing period in our history where innovations and advances in technology are happening almost daily. (Think of the recent announcement of Apple’s iPhone X). Concurrent with the technological advances are massive changes in broader socio-economic, geopolitical and demographic drivers that are pulling on the fabric of the workplace and life in all directions. (Think of the growth of the sharing community with AirBNB and Uber). Nimbleness will be the key to success for both organizations and leaders and will impact us in all aspects of our lives, regardless of the industry in which our business operates or our passion resides.
The speed and breadth of the changes will require us all to develop skills and capabilities that we have never, or rarely, used before. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, 35% of skills deemed important in today’s workforce will change within the next five years. They have also indicated that the 10 skills that are considered vital in this dynamic environment include cognitive flexibility, negotiation, service orientation, judgement and decision making, emotional intelligence, coordinating with others, people management, creativity, critical thinking, and complex problem solving. Employees and employers are looking for ways to stay ahead of the tsunami of change that is coming our way. Being aware of the trends and watching for changes will help to prepare us – but we also need to commit to developing the skills required to both survive and thrive.
Awareness, learning and growth have never been more critical.
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1 www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/