Future Work Skills 2020

 Interesting report from the Institute for the Future (and the University of Phoenix Research Institute), "Future Work Skills 2020".  Highlights from the report include:

• Six drivers of change:
  1. Extreme Longevity - Increasing global lifespans change the nature of careers and learning
  2. Rise of Smart Machines and Systems - Workforce automation nudges human workers out of rote, repetitive tasks
  3. Computational World - Massive increases in sensors and processing power make the world a programmable system
  4. New Media Ecology - New communication tools require new media literacies beyond text
  5. Superstructed Organizations - Social technologies drive new forms of production and value creation
  6. Globally Connected World - Increased global interconnectivity puts diversity and adaptability at the center of organizational operations
      
• Ten future work skills:
  1. Sense-Making - ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed
  2. Social Intelligence - : ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions
  3. Novel and Adaptive Thinking -  proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions and responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based
  4. Cross-Cultural Competency - ability to operate in different cultural settings
  5. Computational Thinking - ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts and to understand data-based reasoning
  6. New Media Literacy - ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication
  7. Transdisciplinarity - literacy in and ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines
  8. Design Mindset - ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired outcomes
  9. Cognitive Load Management -  ability to discriminate and filter information for importance, and to understand how to maximize cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and techniques
  10. Virtual Collaboration -  ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team.
       
• Implications for Education:
  • Placing additional emphasis on developing skills such as critical thinking, insight, and analysis capabilities
  • Integrating new-media literacy into education programs
  • Including experiential learning that gives prominence to soft skills—such as the ability to collaborate, work in groups, read social cues, and respond adaptively
  • Broadening the learning constituency beyond teens and young adults through to adulthood
  • Integrating interdisciplinary training that allows students to develop skills and knowledge in a range of subjects

The report does a very nice job of showing how the drivers combine with the work skills needed for the future.  I encourage all to read the report (about 12 pages) and think how we are addressing these needs.