Many careers in the near future will be significantly different from those today. In fact, many haven’t even been created yet. Constant technological evolution will require workers to use different skill sets built upon different ways of thinking and approaching problem solving. Already, the technology-enabled rise of teleworking, automation, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, digital transactions, instant access to information and online social interaction have changed the expectations that surround the ordinary worker—both what is expected of them and what they expect from the people they work for and with.
In the future, workers will need to be able to make decisions faster, with greater autonomy and enhanced contextual understanding, work with others from all over the world, digest large amounts of information, and blend knowledge from various disciplines to create solutions to problems that challenge the status quo. At every level, from CEO to entry-level employee to entrepreneur, future careers will require substantially transformed ways of thinking, performing, operating, and collaborating, encapsulated in future skills representing four important categories: personal skills, people skills, applied knowledge, and workplace skills.
In the recently released Future Skills Update and Literature Review, ACT partner Institute for the Future outlines the 11 key skills successful future workers will master.
About The Joyce Foundation
Joyce is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.