Let’s UNLEASH the workforce of the future
Technology and the Internet are important tools to promote access to education and increase literacy. According to some, we are on the cusp of a Fourth Industrial Revolution[1] — but, whether you call it that or something else, the way we work is evolving. Most, if not all, future jobs will use technology, conduct business online, and/or require a level of digital literacy and proficiency, if not mastery, that is not currently standard in the world market. This reliance on technology and the Internet has caused a growth in STEM fields while many other industries are, arguably, dying out.
The digitization shift carries a lot of promise but there are a number of hurdles to overcome. Less than half the world’s population[2] has access to the Internet and that number does not speak to a user’s proficiency or consistency of access. As a recent report from the World Economic Forum explained, “[t]ogether, technological, socio-economic, geopolitical and demographic developments and the interactions between them will generate new categories of jobs and occupations while partly or wholly displacing others.”[3] Technology is a major driver of industrial change and coupled with other drivers the impact is only amplified.
Technology and access to the Internet has the potential to bring millions of formerly unconnected workers and consumers to the world economy, how will we prepare them to navigate effectively?
Technology can create custom curriculums to facilitate individualized learning for students and adapt to developmental, environmental, and other needs. Technology can eliminate the need for and mitigate the expense of text books and updating learning materials in the classroom. Importantly, early and consistent access to technology will create a digitally literate workforce and hopefully spark interest in STEM fields. STEM education is an important part of a future workforce able to adapt to societal changes. From the increased dependence on technology to understanding and combating climate change, STEM will be integral to the work of the future.
Next week, 1,000 talents from 129 countries, will come together in Denmark for ten days to focus on seven challenges facing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This massive undertaking should unleash a lot of creativity and innovation that has lasting impact! I hope that this gathering of innovators and intellectuals is an important catalyst for change and advancement among the areas highlighted at the 2017 UNLEASH Lab. One such focus area is Education & ICT, which relates to SDG Four. A well-educated and well-prepared workforce is integral to a sustainable future. Educating our youth and our current workforce to tackle the problems and positions of tomorrow is essential to a sustainable future.
To create an environment that affords everyone the opportunity to use and capitalize on technology we must work as a collective to overcome hurdles to consistent access to technology and the Internet so it can be used as an educational tool. That forces difficult questions: how do we reach those currently unconnected? How do we bring the financial gap that keeps technology out of the hands of students? How do we equip our teachers to use the technology and impart digital literacy? How do we attract more STEM educators and STEM students? How do we leverage the momentum towards social good to uplift and empower organizations and economies seeking to promote education? How do we elevate and replicate the innovation already happening? What legal, policy, and corporate structures need to be engaged, changed, or leveraged to advance education world-wide?
The possibilities of how to bridge this chasm are endless. However, if we can harness the collective brain trust gathered at Unleash, we can cultivate and incubate actions and organizations that will equip the workers of today and the future to adapt to an ever changing market. Together, we can initiate a major step toward a sustainable future.
I look forward to working with my fellow UNLEASH participants to find ways to overcome hurdles to access and facilitate learning world-wide, leveraging technology to cultivate and empower a digital workforce equipped to adapt to the next challenge. The work won’t stop with this lab, nor can it be solved by just this group. I encourage you to find a way to make an impact, and help others do the same.
Follow my journey on Twitter @CamilleEsq
The views expressed in this blog post and on Twitter are my own and do not reflect those of any organization with which I am affiliated nor do the view expressed reflect those of my employer, its affiliates, or its clients.
[1] The World Economic Forum’s 2016 Future of Jobs Report http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs.pdf
[2] According to internetworldstats.com, 49.7%[2] of the world’s population is using the Internet as of March 31, 2017.
[3] The World Economic Forum’s 2016 Future of Jobs Report http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs.pdf
