How marketable are your skills in the job market?

So, which types of skills will be the most popular in the future? According to the Future of Jobs Survey 2018 by the World Economic Forum, there will be significant changes in skills requirements for most of the workforce (42%) by year 2022. As stated in the report, apart from physical labour related jobs, some of the dominant skills possessed by humans are slowly being "outsourced" to science and technology. A relevant example is the mobile phone, which can function like the hard drive of our brain, assisting humans with schedules and daily reminders. Another example is task management software which is geared to take over the tasks of technical workers.

In line with the accelerated pace of technological change, active learning and learning strategies, technical design and programming skills will also rise to become one of the most popular skills over the next 3 years. Hence, some soft skills will rise in demand, including analytical thinking and innovation, the ability to solve complex problems, systems analysis, evaluation and the ability to be creative, original and proactive.

Timothy Johnson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Product and Partnerships at INTI Education Group, says that having the right skills is important because no one can fully and accurately predict the future job market. He said, "Well, if you had asked me five years ago, I wouldn’t have had a clue that there would be jobs like data scientists or search engine optimisation specialists (SEO specialists). These just happened over the last five years, so what we can do is to make sure we are always prepared with the right skills."

He further explained that while the demand would continue to be great for traditional jobs such as doctors, engineers and lawyers, the skills associated with these jobs would evolve. Driven by the fourth industrial revolution, people need to acquire important skills that would make them better doctors, engineers and lawyers. Take for example the medical industry, where telemedicine is gaining momentum. Doctors need to keep up to date and equip themselves with skills that will allow them to treat patients thousands of miles away or even perform surgery through a computer screen.

"In this fourth industrial revolution, 4C skills involving critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity are getting more and more mainstream."

When asked to point out which skills would be important or popular in the future, he said that no matter which industry you work in, you need to be equipped with the 4C skills. Furthermore, the willingness to keep learning is also a necessary trait for the future market.

He said, "Many people will stop learning after they graduate and start working, staying put in their comfort zone and losing competitiveness, causing them to lose out to the younger generation." He encouraged people to adopt a continuous learning attitude, and constantly increase their self-value through various channels. This will also help young graduates from college or university to be competent and competitive, ready to step into new jobs that come on the market.

For example, when the job of data scientist first emerged, mostly graduates of statistics or mathematics filled the role, becoming specialists in data collection, charting and modelling. There are, of course, now courses designed for the career of data scientists.

The job market will evolve over time, with different skills requirements, thereby influencing the courses offered by colleges and universities. In line with the digitalisation era, more courses related to information technology are being offered to students. Apart from programming, courses such as blockchain, cloud technology, network security and so on are also being offered. Timothy Johnson said the courses will also continue to inject new content to meet the evolving needs of the technology era. Of course, there are some existing subjects or courses that will become more in demand due to social changes. One example is the field of psychology, where people seek to understand each other better as well as to seek treatment for an increasing number of psychological issues.

Current academic disciplines will vary in line with the new generation, he added, citing examples to support his statement. The younger generation are leaning towards entrepreneurship instead of employment, hence colleges and universities are focusing on developing certain student skills, such as collaborative team work. Having such a skill is essential for someone planning to start a business, and lack of this skill can be a huge obstacle to one’s success in business.

When it comes to future job prospects, you certainly cannot beat the younger generation who will dominate this area. Timothy Johnson works with young students and has some advice for parents. "Digitalisation is definitely the future, so the most important thing for parents now is to get their children proficient on various electronic products or platforms."

He goes on to explain that getting kids to be well-versed in gadgets and platforms is not just about giving them a smartphone or tablet, or setting up a social media account. As parents, apart from discovering what your children are passionate about, you also need to nurture their interests. For example, if a child likes to cook, he can be given the chance to prepare a dish for the family, giving him the opportunity to explore and discover if this is an interest he wants to pursue further.

Interests aside, children should be exposed to as many fields as possible from a young age. A child who is interested in art should not only focus on art, and conversely a child who prefers science should not focus only on science subjects, because doing so will limit their development and future prospects.

In addition, he suggests that if circumstances permit, parents should try to bring their children to their workplace so that children can be exposed to the general idea of the work environment. Of course, most important of all is making time for your children. Spending time together allows you to explore different possibilities and discover interests, an invaluable insight that can be more beneficial than sending your children to piano lessons or speech and drama classes.



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