FUTURE OF WORK IN AFRICA: HOW, WHEN AND WHERE TO POSITION YOURSELF TO AVOID TREMBLING IN TREPIDATION.
“…As history demonstrates, humans succeed in large-scale collaboration when it is truly needed. Now is one of those moments. We are in the 4th Industrial revolution, a world driven around by countless iteration sin innovative processea around driverless cars, smart robotics, materials that are lighter and tougher. Our world is being called to tackle urgent social and environmental issues while facing significant disruption to governance and economies, leading to a key opportunity for transformative system change. Believing the only way forward is by joining forces to absorb the future where business and profit works in support of people and the planet. That’s why it’s not uncommonly for people to keep trembling in trepidation because they don’t understand what the “future of work” itself entails”.
I will not only walk you through the path of understanding the “future of work” in an Africa terrain like a bachelor walking down the aisle with a damsel, but also give a crystal clear elucidation on growing adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and the expansion of the workforce to include both on- and off-balance-sheet talent not excluding career paths you can dive in at the moment in order to strategically position yourself for available work opportunities and the ones yet to be unraveled, although accompanied with getting started.
Given the above content, chewing this down the nub is extremely important as we journey through this process. Why is work changing? it should not be rhetorical in this context. New world of work is created, influenced and impacted by the current socio-economic changes and trends. Demands and services of modern human race have in no doubt spurred on the transmogrification on this, leaving the parachute of alien work specifications and stacks traveling through the air in coming decades with the hope of descending on prepared individuals. Decidedly, this is triggering complete restructuring and revision of the role of human requirements within the workplace, and the emergence of roles that fundamentally require humans to advance, innovate and lead. Though the changes are in turn serving as the deterministic factor to the new wave of “super jobs” that require cognitive intelligence and problem-solving skills, with a turbo-charged productivity / efficiency bridging the gap and enabling collaboration amongst humans work and technology. Speed to market and productivity urge, is gradually forcing redundant Africa labor ecosystem to adopt digital formats in place of her rigid and analog working system — any decision-making process or hierarchy that delays innovation is a barrier to success.
Africa companies are digesting the need to incorporate the digital formats and reduce complex structures and processes that hamper innovation. Intuitively, leaving prospective employee with the need to develop new core skills and become expert in at least one of all the emerging fields. Looming unrest have been savaging the sub-conscious minds of some Africans who are not ignorant of the latest development but found it befuddling to position themselves as stakeholders of the new wave or take advantage of the situation to better their lives and concurrently contribute their quarter to the development of the continent. Delivering this content as an enlightenment palliative, here is a detailed analysis of the thought / question you might have been ruminating on.
Positioning yourself as an opportunist and a relevant entity of emerging fields, How? Before indulging the new world of work, you need to be cognizant with few of the emerging fields and projected stacks / specifications. There are two areas that are heavily shaping the future of work. The first being Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Augmentation. The second being various technology inclined fields which are subsets of tech., advancement such as Infographics Design, Data Science, UI/UX Design, Product Management, Content Creation, Cloud Computing, Technical Writing, Networking, Video Animation, Software Development, Graphics Design, Web Development, Software Testing, Public Speaking, Digital Marketing and Creative Thinking just to mention a few. Making yourself ready is not only about understanding new ways of working or how new workplaces are derived or even how AI is replacing existing jobs. It’s about how you can enrich your capabilities and integrate them into the workforce, while creating more sustainable organizations for the future. “You don’t need more education, as the song goes, because education is about power, control and tests. What you need is learning, and learning is about incompetence and failure. The only way to learn something is to embrace that you are incompetent the moment before you get better.” says SETH GODIN an entrepreneur, marketing & work strategist. Regurgitating the future of work, identifying how to adopt a valuable environment for training, championing continuous learning is the key to remain relevant and employable. Therefore, learning at the point of need should be your want at the moment. Regarding that, popping concern since learning new world of work skills and stacks serves as the only way out, is demystifying the right time to take action.
“When is the best time to learn any of the aforementioned stacks?”. The ideal time for gathering online contents and gaining the required knowledge in consultation with companies and platforms organizing physical or remote cohorts is no time other than now. The good news is that the rise in technology allows you to learn when you want and how you want on devices of your choice with verified, known and endorsed platforms that have been in the forefront of knowledge sharing and brainstorming in regards to your field of interest.
Gaining the required knowledge, Where? Drawing on the insight given, there are more than enough platforms you can indulge to get yourself acquainted with different skill. As promised, below are some platforms where you can learn and get the contents that will get you started and put you on the right path.
· Udemy
· Udacity
· Coursera
Furthermore, aligning with the Experience Circle Initiative that keeps advocating the Future of Work, Learning and Creativity is also a smart move. It aims to serve as a practical guide for leaders from business, government, civil society and the education sector on the capacity of adapting to the requirements of future jobs. You will definitely be doing yourself a favor by following up for free mentorship, and connecting with a Work Strategist / Mobile Developer as well as joining the network of like minds across the continent.
Work is already being untied from space and time and, while this freedom is liberating and empowering, there are challenges ahead. Particularly, how would ignorant individuals inspire a sense of belonging and respond when walls between physical and digital have disappeared? by then the workforce will be more disparate and demanding than ever, when the new rule will be to expect change and keep on learning. In response, keeping the core principle of purposeful skill acquisition at the heart of everything will conceive a favorable technique to overcome these challenges.
Remember that everyone living today has habits and lifestyles formed around technology, social media, mobility and globalization, hence,Future workplaces require flexible and visionary workers, they will be those people who want to be not only ‘best in the world’ but ‘best for the world’.
All Right Reserved. Copyright 2020 @Heritage Samuel Falodun.
