Career

Reskilling a Priority to Prepare Workers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Reskilling a Priority to Prepare Workers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Written by Lameez Omarjee for Fin24

A significant amount of reskilling and upskilling is necessary to prepare the workforce for future jobs created by the fourth industrial revolution, according to a report.

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Future of Jobs 2018 report released earlier this week, unpacks the potential of new technologies to disrupt and create jobs and what should be done to prepare the workforce for new roles. The findings are based on a survey of chief human resources officers and strategy executives from companies across 12 industries and 20 developed and emerging economies.

According to the research, more than half of all workplace tasks will be performed by machines and algorithms as opposed to 29% currently. However, the evolution of machines in the workplace could create 133 million new roles, compared to the 75 million jobs that will be displaced between 2018 and 2022.

 “While we expect net positive job growth, there will be a significant shift in the quality, location, format and permanency of new roles,” the report read.

Although disruption such as automation will have an impact on the nature of work – the quality, location, format and whether roles are permanent or not – it also presents opportunities and demand for new roles. These roles include data analysts and scientists, software and application developers, e-commerce and social media specialists.

There is also expected to be increasing demand for roles which require human skills – such as sales and marketing professions, innovation managers and customer service workers, according to the report. However, roles which could become redundant include “routine-based white-collar roles” such as accounting and pay-roll clerks.

As for the displacement of jobs, surveyed companies indicate job losses in mining and metals, consumer and information technologies industries is projected to be higher than companies in “professional services”, while job demand will be created in other industries.

Businesses are likely to increase the use of contracted workers doing task-specialised work, more flexible work arrangements to be introduced, increasing use of remote staff, and increasing access to talent by shifting the location from which the organisation operates.

In turn workers will require new sets of skills to keep up with changes. Saadia Zahidi, head of the centre for the new economy and society at WEF noted that companies need to invest in human capital to remain competitive in an age of machines”.

“There is both a moral and economic imperative to do so. Without proactive approaches, businesses and workers may lose out on the economic potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Zahidi.

But the survey showed that over half of the companies plan to reskill only those in key roles, while only a third plan to reskill at-risk workers.

Even though all industries are expected to have skills gaps, the aviation and travel and tourism will have the highest reskilling needs between 2018 and 2022.

“Skills gaps are also a particular concern in the information and communication technology, financial services and investors, and mining and metals industries,” the report read. Global health and healthcare, chemistry, advanced materials and biotechnology sectors are most likely to retrain their workers. 

The demand for roles will also vary across regions – for example in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa there will be demand for assembly and factory workers. While in East Asia and the pacific and Western Europe there will be demand for financial and investment advisors.

The WEF highlighted the role of government in addressing the impact of new technology on labour markets. This past week stakeholders in government, business and organised labour came together for the Presidential Job Summit in an effort to address the challenges to job creation. Business and government plan to create 275 000 jobs every year for the next five years. Among the solutions proposed includes a focus on training of technical skills in the automotive, construction and hospitality sectors.

Take a look at me now! i-Fundi’s graduates share their trials and tribulations

Take a look at me now! i-Fundi’s graduates share their trials and tribulations

JOHANNESBURG – They say you measure progress by looking at how far you have travelled in your journey.

For millions of people across South Africa, every dawn presents a new challenge. When the sun rises, in the East, bringing an African warmth and the hope of new possibilities, many others wake up to face defeat and rejection in a harsh socio-economic landscape. Unemployment is a crippling reality in South Africa today. Granted there are governmental strategies put in place to attempt to bridge the desperately gaping unemployment cavity, however, it is a fact which cannot be ignored.  There is a lack of educated, skilled workers in the market.  The bottom line is simply; the demand fails to meet the supply.

Undoubtedly, it is a struggle to bridge this gap because poverty and unemployment have made the future of the African child as fickle as the temperament of a new born.

Understanding the plight of adversity, i-Fundi undertook a project which followed the lives of its alumni, to see how big the strides education has made in their lives. A wise man once said, “Education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think”. That wise man was Albert Einstein. For these pupils, education and opportunity have definitely been their saving grace.

Comfort Moeketsi Sebatie (24) worked as a construction worker, until he decided to change his circumstances. In 2012, he pursued a NQF 2 contact centre certificate with i-Fundi. Sebatie says deciding to pursue the qualification changed his life significantly. No longer a construction worker, Sebatie is currently employed and was recently made a permanent employee by his company, Altech Autopage Cellular.

“I had never worked in a call centre before so it was a great challenge to decide to study and start something new. The transition was vast as I was moving into a completely different field as I worked before. The change was very good for me because I got to learn a lot about customer service values, self-discipline, and the industry as well”, he says.

Reflecting on his journey, Sebatie now realises that he is in control of his dreams, and by proactively going after the life he has imagined, his mind has shifted to accommodate positive thinking; “obstacles are opportunities to thrive”.

Another one of i-Fundi’s graduates is Mpumelelo Ndalane (29), who shares her success story. Ndalane’s story is synonymous with the millions of students in South Africa who completed their matric qualification, but lacked the funds to study further at tertiary level. “i-Fundi gave me a good stepping stone to a better future”, she says. When Ndalane’s host employer, Standard Bank offered her the opportunity to study further, she grabbed the opportunity with both arms, and she thereafter obtained an NQF 2 Contact Centre Certificate. “I am currently an analyst at Standard Bank and further pursuing my studies in Contact Centre Optimization. Everything I have achieved is because of the experience I have gained from working since qualifying. The certificate I obtained from i-Fundi definitely opened doors for me”, she says.

Reddy Preeshan’s success story proves the fact that education really does open doors for you, and how far you climb the ladder to success is entirely up to the efforts you put in. Having also studied a qualification in Contact Centre Operation NQF 2, he is amongst the successful students who believe they would never have it if it wasn’t for the opportunity he received to pursue a learnership with i-Fundi. “Today I am proud to say that I am a Software Testing Manager. Before, I worked as a call centre agent, and was thereafter promoted to management level as a Service Delivery Manager”, he says. His journey to the top is certainly am inspiring one, which should be a point of reference to anyone who doubts their capabilities.

Remember, we want you to share your life journey with us. If you are interested in being part of this ‘success stories’ project, kindly email: nyeleti@i-fundi.com.

Visit our  website and have a look at all the various accredited courses and qualifications we have on offer. If you are interested, don’t hesitate to contact us on: 011-290-5900.

Join us on our social media. Our Facebook name is i-Fundi, and i-Fundi Learners. Follow us on Twitter, our handle is @ifundisa.