One of the biggest challenges in the Next Economy is upskilling people. And as I’ve mentioned before, I believe people should be responsible for their own upskilling instead of depending on their employers for that.
In the upcoming summit, the World Economic Forum is setting the Next Economy agenda to provide better jobs, education and skills to 1 billion people by 2030.
In the job market, while 133M new roles may be created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, 75M jobs may be displaced by these new technologies at the same time.https://t.co/DxbeC1gRS6 pic.twitter.com/JqIkcuMyCJ
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) January 12, 2020
The Next Economy will be driven by 10 key technologies, which are already creating new areas of opportunity for people to take. The people who are better positioned to take on these jobs are the ones who are already close to the action, the ones who are already experimenting. But those who are not, have a huge leap ahead of them.
I believe there should be a focus on mindset before skills; specifically growth mindset. Here are a few reasons why mindset comes first before skills:
- The Future of Work is a combination of having a full time job and a hustle on the side. If people can’t get a full time job, that leaves a part-time and a hustle on the side. Which is why it’s imperative we teach people how to create options for themselves.
- Uncertainty and confidence go hand in hand. Uncertainty is unbearable to most people, and their confidence drops when their reality changes.
- What impedes people from doing what they want is their mindset. There are many people out there who’d love to run their own business. Some have the skills but don’t have the belief in themselves they can do it successfully. Others have the desire, but not the skills or the belief.
- If people can’t believe they can do something, they won’t do it; they won’t even try to. The narrative people tell themselves determines their future.
When I think about upskilling I think about the people who make minimum wage, not the people who are employed by a corporation who need to be upskilled to keep their jobs. Though different situations, what determines their respective path is their mindset. With that said, want to upskill people? Start with mindset first. Becuse the way to change people is to change how they see themselves.
